Restless Warriors
by Etcetera Kit
Summary: Set post PRDT, Vypra and her demons hatch a plan to destroy the gates between the spirit and mortal realms. Five yellow rangers must stop her. Can Maya, Kelsey, Taylor, Dustin and Kira learn to work together? Complete.
1. Scroll of Destiny

**Disclaimer: **'Power Rangers' is copyright of Buena Vista Entertainment and others of that ilk. No infringement is intended.

**Author's Note: **Hey guys! I have put 'Roaring On the Wind' and all its subsidiaries to rest for now. This is a completely new piece. In my usual style, it will encompass more than one season. I'd appreciate comments and constructive criticism. Flames will be used to roast marshmallows for s'mores. I'm also not sure about regular updates for this-- but it will be finished eventually! lol With that, enjoy and let me know what you think! --EK

* * *

**RESTLESS WARRIORS**

**Chapter One: Scroll of Destiny**

"You can't be serious!"

Maya just smiled patiently at the distressed tone of Kendrix Morgan's voice. Granted, she probably should have told her that she was taking the next shuttle to Earth before she started packing her meager belongings, but it was a moot point now. She folded her pajamas and placed them in her knapsack on top of a change of clothing. Kendrix would see the logic of her plan eventually and not be so distressed.

Kendrix frowned at Maya's lack of a response. "Why are you leaving?" her best friend and roommate tried again.

She smiled at her, trying to be reassuring. "I'll be back." She moved towards the bathroom to get her toiletries so she wouldn't see the sputtering that Kendrix was about to indulge in.

"That still doesn't answer why you're going to Earth!" Kendrix called after a moment's pause. "You've never even been to Earth before!"

"Earth sounds similar to Mirinoi from what you and the boys have told me," she replied mildly. "I'm sure I'll adjust. Besides, I have people I need to contact."

"Who?"

"I'm not entirely sure yet, but I'll find out soon."

Kendrix sighed, an exasperated expression coming over her features. She was a high-ranking science officer and didn't set much store by Maya's sixth sense. It puzzled Maya since Kendrix had been lost to them for so long in some kind of rift between the realms—the mortal realm where all faded away and the spirit realm where things were eternal. That rift had been long talked about in legends on Mirinoi, but none had been known to pass into it and come back whole. Kendrix had. Maya strongly suspected that her skepticism had something to do with it. Plus, the Quasar Sabers were mysterious and powerful devices. Even though the pink Saber chose Karone to be Kendrix's successor, the Saber still had a powerful bond with its original owner for this era. It was enough to bring Kendrix back to them.

"I don't know how you can live life like this," Kendrix whispered, brushing a loose strand of blonde hair from her face.

Maya smiled. "I'm not asking you to understand entirely." She paused. "Remember what it was like in the rift? Remember what you saw?"

Her roommate sighed again. "I remember."

"Something is wrong," she whispered. "Something is wrong between the realms. I know I must go to Earth and find the others who can help me with this task."

"You've been chosen?"

"We are all chosen to do something. I have heard the cries and seen the signs. I have to go to Earth to complete this task."

Kendrix sank into an armchair in their quarters. "How do you know this?"

"Trini Kwan told me."

Kendrix visibly paled. She knew as well as Maya who Trini Kwan was. Power Rangers passed their history down to one another. The Galaxy Rangers, the team she and Kendrix had been members of, were given the history when they met Andros. He had been the Red Space Ranger and the bearer of the history. Traditionally, it was passed down through the red rangers, although they usually chose to share it with their team as Leo chose to share it with them. It was a tradition that no one made a big deal of. It ensured that future teams knew who they could contact in dire straits.

And Trini Kwan had been the original yellow ranger in this era. She had been the first to dawn that color and take up the legacy once more. She had also passed away in a freak car accident almost four years ago.

"That's impossible," Kendrix said hoarsely.

"You know as well as I do that it is not," Maya replied patiently. "You were stuck between the realms. You know that it is not impossible for beings from either realm to contact others in the other realm."

Kendrix didn't reply.

Maya smiled gently. "I have to go to Earth."

"You know, when Terra Venture left five years ago, I had thought that I would never see Earth again." Kendrix snorted. "Now with that shuttle route…" She trailed off. "But why don't we get the others together? We can help you-"

"No," Maya replied softly, but firmly. She knew who Kendrix meant—the other Galaxy Rangers, Leo, Damon, Kai, even Mike. "This task has been assigned to the yellow rangers."

"Why?"

Such a simple question with a complicated answer. "There is a scroll of destiny," Maya explained. "The ninjas saw long before our era what would happen. They had prophesized that only the yellow rangers could complete this task and even then, it is only a few of them."

"So you're going to Earth?"

"I'm going to Earth."

The former pink ranger let out one of her characteristic sighs and stood up from the armchair. She crossed the room to her dresser and opened one of the drawers. Her blue eyes were sad and distant as she lifted out a light pink sweater.

"It's going to be cold in California this time of year," Kendrix said softly. "You don't have any winter clothes." She held the sweater out.

Maya shook her head. "That's your favorite sweater. I can't take it with me."

"You can and you will." She put the sweater in her hands. "And don't tell me you're landing in Australia or something. All the rangers are in or around California."

Maya brushed her fingers over the soft cashmere of the sweater, tears welling up in her eyes. "I'll take good care of it."

The two friends embraced. Maya had not thought that she would make any close friends when she got stranded on Terra Venture, but she had been wrong. Kendrix had become the best friend she had never actually had. They felt like old friend—like they had known each other all their lives. But there was no word yet for old friends who just met.

"Send us a wire when you get to Earth," Kendrix said, putting on a front of bravado. "And take your saber."

Maya nodded. "I will."

She picked up her knapsack and left their quarters. Her shuttle left in a little over an hour and she had to go to the forest and retrieve her saber. It was time for her to pick up her task of being a Power Ranger once more.

* * *

Classes at the Wind Ninja Academy progressed as usual. Perhaps there was a bit more chaos than normal and the earth students had taken to making mud pies and then throwing them at each other, but it was mostly business as usual. Dustin Brooks strongly believed in allowing one's inner child to come out once in a while and the mud pies his students were making seemed to be the perfect outlet. He was a teacher at the academy and was in charge of the earth students. He had cautioned the students to make sure to use their ninja powers in making and throwing the mud pies before he had left them to their own devices.

"And people wonder why it takes the earth students longer to graduate than the others?"

He turned with a lopsided grin to Tori Hanson. She had been the Blue Wind Power Ranger (he had been the Yellow Wind Power Ranger) and was also a teacher at the academy. She was in charge of the water students.

"This is a valuable lesson," he countered.

Tori laughed. "Maybe you're right. I mean Cam does have all of us beat in terms of graduation time."

"Yeah, but that's because he's, like, a full-on ninja master and he only has, like, three students." Dustin continued to grin. It didn't bother him that the others' students graduated before his. The competition in his life was limited to the arena of Motocross. In everything else, he tended to be laid back. Sometimes he was accused of being lazy, but he just took it all in stride. He was also accused of being unperceptive.

That was starting to seem like a lie. There was something wrong, but it was too elusive for him to grasp it or describe it. He had decided to keep his mouth shut about it to the others, especially Sensei. The others would shrug it off and say he had an overactive imagination from too many video games or being dropped on his head as a child and Sensei would demand more details. He didn't feel like dealing with the former and didn't know how to get more details for the latter.

Sensei had always told him to listen to his inner ninja and to be mindful of the immediate future. At first, he had laughed and thought it was something straight out of a _Star Wars_ movie, but soon he learned that Sensei had been right. So much was to be learned and disasters were avoided from that small mindfulness. And this… disturbance… seemed to fall into that category. It was still unclear like a rumbling of thunder too distant to make out before the storm hit and demolished everything. He would have said it was like a constant buzzing in his ears, but it seemed to be gaining momentum. None of the others seemed affected.

"Dustin?"

He snapped to attention at the sound of Tori's voice. "Yeah?"

"I asked you what you were doing this weekend. You kind of spaced out," She paused and gave him a searching look. "You all right?"

"Sure," he replied mustering up a fake smile that fooled Tori. Perhaps he could find something in the library and then go to Sensei about this nagging sense of precognition. The only problem with the library would be avoiding Cam and the samurai students—they watched that place like hawks. "Could you keep an eye on my students for a little bit?" he asked her.

Tori looked to the mud battle that was raging and smiled. "Yeah. I think they have themselves occupied for now."

He hurried away from the woods and stepped easily onto the small pond underneath the waterfall—it looked like he was walking on water, but he had learned early on to levitate himself just over the water using his ninja powers. It was trick all of them learned. He held his hands up to activate the portal that led to the actual school building. In a flash, he was standing on a bluff that overlooked the huge building that was the Wind Ninja Academy. A quick scan of the place told him that the air students were doing katas in the practice field, a few water students were practicing sword technique and the obsessive-compulsive samurai students were having some sort of powwow under a tree.

That might mean the library was empty, but he wasn't going to hold his breath since he didn't see the fearless samurai leader around anywhere. He shook his head and hurried across the grounds to the building. The library was on the first floor and was supposedly open to all, however, Cam frowned upon loitering in there without a purpose so most steered clear of the place.

The library appeared empty when he entered. Breathing a sigh of relief, he hurried to the section that held the scrolls of destiny. Something had to be there about this—some ancient prophecy. Next to the scrolls of destiny were the volumes that held the legacy of the Power Rangers on Earth or, sometimes, Earth-originated space colonies. It had been a strange day when a man named Cole Evans showed up in the woods around the portal looking for the newest team of Power Rangers. They had never fought alongside with the Wild Force Rangers, but had met them and could recognize them. Cole had wanted to talk with the red ranger. Shane had ended up sharing the information with them and letting Cam catalogue it. It had been the history and it was up to them to chronicle their adventures with the power and to pass it on to the next generation of rangers.

Shaking his head, he picked up the first scroll of destiny.

"That's not the one you're looking for."

He froze in the act of unrolling the scroll. Cam entered the library and crossed the room to him. He had been the tech man for the Ninja Storm Rangers and had later become their Green Samurai Ranger.

"Wha-what?" he stammered.

"That's not the one you're looking for," Cam repeated, taking the scroll he had been holding and putting it away. He took down a scroll from one of the upper shelves. The scrolls were in order of when they had been written, starting with the earliest. The upper shelves held some of the most ancient scrolls—most of which had already come to pass. Cam handed him the new scroll.

"What is this, dude?" he asked, wondering what Cam already knew.

Cam gave him his signature bored look. The samurai was good at silencing people with one look or betraying his loathing of a situation with nothing more than a glance. Dustin felt that it would be prudent to read the scroll and figure out what Cam was talking about.

He unrolled the scroll and his heart froze at the writing and drawings there. A demon would rise from the grave, after having been defeated at the hands of a great power twice. She would, with the help of a previously silent demon, open the gates between the mortal realm and the spirit realm. No, she wouldn't open the gates. She would destroy them. All creatures could be able to pass between the realms and chaos would ensue. It was up to five with a great power to stop her. He looked at the drawing of the five.

Power Rangers… the five were Power Rangers. And not just any Power Rangers, they were the five most recent yellow rangers who were still in the present. He recognized all of them. It was himself, Taylor Earhardt and Kira Ford. The other two were Maya, the Yellow Galaxy Ranger, and Kelsey Winslow, the Yellow Lightspeed Rescue Ranger. Of the other four, he had only met Taylor and Kira.

"It's you," Cam said softly.

Dustin looked up. "But… how? I don't know how to contact these people! I don't even know if this thing has started yet!"

Cam rolled his eyes and let out a long breath. "You've felt it. I know you have."

"What?"

"Dustin, you're never this quiet. You never come into the library unless you have to. You must have felt the disturbances."

He fell silent. Cam was right. "Have you felt them?"

The older man shook his head. "No. Only you and the other four yellow rangers can feel them. You have been chosen for millennia to take on this task."

He glanced at the scroll. It didn't say who would be victorious. "It doesn't say who will win," he whispered.

"They rarely do," Cam replied.

"What should I do?"

Cam smiled. "Keep your eyes open. I'm sure Maya will end up on the front step of the academy looking for you soon." He paused. "Besides, read the scroll and it might tell you something useful."

He left the library. Dustin glanced back down to the scroll. It said that Maya had the power to convince the other three. He shuddered. For some reason, it made him slightly uncomfortable to think about this woman he didn't even know. It was probably because she might have powers that exceeded his own. Well, he might be able to get Cam to tap into the shuttle records from Mirinoi to Earth and find out if Maya had come to Earth yet, since she was on Mirinoi.

How had things gotten so complicated?

* * *

Vypra, the Princess of the Demons, had once risen from the grave to help Queen Banshera and her goons rise to the dark power they had once had. After that, she had risen from the grave to seek revenge against the ones who foiled her queen's plot, the Power Rangers. There had been whispers in the spirit realm of a way to obtain a great power, greater than any ranger. Now, the time was right to rise from the grave again. And there was nothing in her way, especially since she now had Jareth on her side.

Jareth was a demon, king of the goblins, but he had greater power than Lucivar and the Council of Light. For millennia, he had remained uninterested in anything going on the spirit realm. Most of their petty problems had bored him, so he chose to remain in his labyrinth, surrounded by smelly, stupid goblins. But he was the only one powerful enough to help her that could be persuaded in that direction. Lucivar would never have helped her in this endeavor, leader of the Dark Council or no. He believed those stupid stories about the gates, how the spirits and mortals could not mix, how the gates would blink out existence when destroyed. He was a stupid gullible fool. He had not helped her either time she had risen before, there was no reason to believe he would help her now.

The ceremony would take place in one month—on All Hallow's Eve. If it did not go smoothly, it would not be able to be performed for another one thousand years. The alignment of the moon, sun and planets had to be exact and the particular alignment happened once every one thousand years. If one tiny thing went wrong, all would be lost.

But nothing would go wrong.

She had seen part of the scroll that prophesized about the five that could stop them—those pathetic yellow rangers. Jareth had more power than her ghouls and Queen Banshera. To him, the rangers, especially rangers without powers, meant nothing more than a flick of his wrist. Eternal sunshine was what the scroll had called them. Well, maybe Little Miss Lightspeed Ranger was and her friend the Galaxy jungle girl, but the others might not fit that description.

Smiling, she rested her hand on the stone altar. This was the perfect place to perform the ceremony. Banshera had left many underground caverns in her wake and the Lightspeed Rangers had hardly tapped them. This one was a temple, far underground. No one would think to look for them here. And no one would hear the sacrifice's scream.

"Could you have picked a moldier, dirtier place?"

Vypra rolled her eyes and turned to the cavern's entrance. Jareth stood in the entry, looking around disdainfully. His blonde hair was slicked back today, rather than one of the puffed up mullets he tended to prefer. His black robes were immaculate and his black shoes clicked across the stone floor as he crossed the large room towards her.

"You spend your days with goblins. What are you complaining about?" she snapped.

"Just because I consort with goblins, does not mean I like dirty, moldy places!" he retorted with fire in his voice.

"This is the only place," Vypra said with sweet venom. "Other places will be detected or they do not have what the ceremony needs to go forward."

"No one's going to find us in any of these caves," he muttered. "The rangers are always so complacent. None of them will check down here until it is too late."

"Don't underestimate them," she hissed.

"I don't want to overestimate them."

"You do not know what they might be capable of if the rest of the spirit realm gets behind them."

"That won't happen."

Vypra fumed silently. Of all the arrogant, powerful demons, the one with the most power and the biggest attitude had to be the one she needed. Well, if she was lucky, he might be eliminated during the ceremony and she wouldn't have to deal with him. If she was lucky…

"Put the goblins on guard," she snapped.

"I already have."

"Do you trust your goblins?"

Jareth took a step closer to her and ran one long black fingernail down her bare arm. She shuddered from the contact, fighting the tendrils of seduction that wove around her mind. He made her skin crawl.

"Owling is my Master of the Guard," he whispered. "I stole him from the Fairy Court where he was the best master in five thousand years. I don't think we'll have problems."

She yanked her arm away from him. "See that we don't."

His blue eyes blazed with icy fire as he turned on his heel and clicked out of the abandoned temple. Vypra glared after him. He might be the perfect demon for the job, but that did not mean she had to cherish working with him.

She picked up a rag and began to dust off the altar.

_ To Be Continued..._


	2. Shadows

**Disclaimer: **'Power Rangers' is copyright of Buena Vista Entertainment and others of that ilk. No infringement is intended.

**RESTLESS WARRIORS**

**Chapter Two: Shadows**

_The firelight flickered over the rocks on the bluff. Maya nodded at the transparent woman who stood on the opposite side of the fire from her. This was Trini Kwan and it was her first night on Earth. Finding a bus to Blue Bay Harbor and finding the bluff had been no problem. Now, Trini was telling her of the others she needed to find._

_Trini waved a ghostly hand over the fire. An image appeared. It was of a young woman with her brown hair in a high ponytail. She was rollerblading. It was Kelsey Winslow, the Yellow Lightspeed Rescue Ranger. Her blue eyes sparkled from the movement._

_"This one you know," Trini said._

_"I have her phone number," Maya replied softly._

_Trini just smiled. She waved her hand over the fire again and the image changed. This time it featured a young woman—perhaps nineteen or twenty—playing her guitar at a small restaurant. Her hair was dark blonde and loose. Her hazel eyes were sad and haunted._

_"This is Kira Ford," Trini continued. "Once you get to the Wind Ninja Academy, Dustin will know how to contact her. She was the Dino Thunder Yellow Ranger."_

* * *

The day was perfect for rollerblading through the park. So Kelsey Winslow had decided to do just that. She worked at a rock gym and the employees had four-day rotation schedules. She worked four days and was off four days. It worked out well for her and gave her leisurely afternoons to rollerblade or do something else of that ilk for herself. The sun was warm, there was cool breeze and the birds were singing—perfect weather.

The park in downtown Mariner Bay was buzzing with life. Children and their mothers played noisy games while little old ladies gossiped on park benches. She sat down on a bench and adjusted her rollerblades. This was close to where the temple had been—the temple where Queen Banshera, Vypra and their goons had set up their headquarters. So much had happened here. Ryan had emerged from that place as an enemy. Carter had gone in there to single-handedly deal with the demons once and for all. It wasn't exactly the happiest place in the world, but the demons were gone. There was nothing to fear.

She stood up and took a deep breath of fresh air. Smiling, she took off down one of the jogging paths. This was what she needed after manning a lock-in last night. The lock-in participants had consisted of thirty kids from a church youth group—ages ten to thirteen. The result had been frightened children and mouthy, belligerent pre-teens. The chaperons had been frazzled, so she found herself reprimanding the kids. They hadn't left the rock gym until close to three a.m. She was just lucky she didn't have to work today.

Her cell phone rang.

She pulled to a stop on the side of the path. "Hello?"

"Kelsey?"

"Yes." She paused, not recognizing the female voice on the other end of the line. "Who is this?"

"It's Maya."

Maya. The Yellow Galaxy Ranger. She had helped them when Trakeena decided to come to Earth and take on a new form. While she didn't know her well, she had liked Maya while they had all been on Earth together. They both liked nature, although they appreciated it in different ways, and they had both been the optimists for their teams. They had more in common than their dissimilar backgrounds would allow for.

"Hey, Maya!" she said enthusiastically. "I thought you were on Mirinoi."

"I was. I just got off the shuttle yesterday."

In other words, she had taken a shuttle from Mirinoi to Earth. "What's up?" she asked. "Do you need a place to stay? Why are you on Earth?" The questions came rapidly and the words spilled off her tongue. It had been a long time since she had seen Maya and meeting with other rangers was always an awe-inspiring experience.

Maya laughed on the other end. "Slow down," she said gently. "I don't need a place to stay—it's taken care of."

"Are you sure?" Kelsey asked. She had seen Maya's idea of a place to stay—and that didn't preclude sleeping under a tree in a park.

"Yes, I'm sure. You sound just like Kendrix!"

Kelsey smiled. "So what's up? What's going on?"

"I need your help," Maya said slowly. "Can you be at the Wind Ninja Academy in Blue Bay Harbor by noon tomorrow?"

"Sure. Where in Blue Bay Harbor is it?"

Maya named a road and then started giving her directions through a forest.

"Wait a minute—this place has a secret entrance in the woods?"

There was a pause on the other end. "Yes."

Kelsey frowned. "Then how am I supposed to find it?"

"I wouldn't worry about it too much," Maya replied. "If you get close, one of the ninjas will probably find you. Just tell them you're looking for me."

"Okay. I'll try to get there."

"Great!" Maya cried. "I'll see you tomorrow! I'll explain everything then!" Her tone of voice was a mixture of relief and excitement. Had she really thought that Kelsey would not come? If there was something to learn, it was that Power Rangers came through for one another, no matter how trivial the matter.

"All right. Bye, Maya!"

"Bye!"

The phone went dead. Kelsey stared at the phone for a minute before putting it back into its holster on her belt. Maya had seemed perfectly normal, but she tended to be overly calm in situations where others would be panicking. It made her wonder what was so important that she had to get to Blue Bay Harbor to hear.

But then again, she had had this nagging feeling for a while that something wasn't right. It was elusive. If it had been anyone other than herself, she would have brushed it off as paranoia. Something was happening and it wasn't good. She had even gone to the point of calling both Captain Mitchell and Carter and asking them if everything was normal from the surveillance point of view. Neither of them had any answers.

Perhaps it would be perspicacious of her to check out the temple ruins.

With a new and determined purpose, she headed away from the joggers' path to the back roads that led to the temple. It would be difficult on rollerblades—but not impossible. She would probably wish she had taken the rollerblades off, but it was a moot point now.

The temple ruins were just as they had been when Queen Banshera had been defeated for the first time. Large chunks of sandstone and limestone were scattered around. If one looked closely enough, they could see the remains of an altar and a throne room. Frowning, she moved into the large throne room—the place that Carter had gone in their last mission as active rangers. Part of the throne was still intact, but the ornate decorations that had once surrounded it were gone. She got the feeling they should have bulldozed this area and dug underground just to make sure that all the rooms of the temple were gone.

She laid a hand on the cool, slick stone of the altar.

Something crackled behind her.

Heart pounding, she swung around. There was nothing in the trees nor was there any movement in that direction. She moved across the temple to a cluster of trees that were just beyond the place. She caught some movement in the corner of her eye. Swinging to the right, the result was the same as before—nothing. The breeze blew through the trees and the leaves rustled on the ground. It was a normal fall day.

That didn't ease the bad feeling she had.

Hurrying back to the trail, she hoped that Maya had some answers.

* * *

"You ready, Kira?"

Kira Ford nodded and watched Hayley retreat back to the bar. It was nice knowing that she had a job for life singing at the Cyberspace Café, but it didn't exactly scream 'career advancement.' If only she had taken that scholarship to NYU, none of this would have happened. It was entirely _his_ fault. _He_ was the one who wanted her to stay in Reefside. _He_ had been the one who insisted that someone would discover her in this town and in this little cyber café. Where was he now? Nowhere to be seen and he was certainly not in her life.

The doors to the café burst open and a familiar figure skidded in. A smile floated over his lips. Conner McKnight gave her a huge grin and a 'thumbs up' before pulling up a seat at one of the tables. She remembered when _he_ had broken up with her. All the dreams she had put aside for him and all that she had sacrificed for him came tumbling back to her in their terrible dance. Conner and Ethan had been the first pair she thought to call. Granted, they would never have been close if it had not been for their time as rangers together, but the fact remained that they were close. She called them.

And they had both come from their colleges to see her. They both went to UCLA, but different branches. Ethan was at Berkley and Conner was at the main LA campus. Their reactions had been what cheered her up the most. Conner had offered to beat him to a bloody pulp, while Ethan had offered to hack into his credit card accounts so they could charge exorbitant amounts on it. It was good to know that she had two friends she could count on.

Trent Fernandez was no longer one of them. In fact, he wasn't even in California right now as far as she could tell.

She looked down to her guitar, played a few chords and then started into her first song of the evening. She loved music. It flowed through her like the breath of life. It calmed her down, helped her focus. She could have had a great music career. She could have been something other than two-bit girl who played at the local cyberspace café.

The set was one she played often, so her mind began to wander as she played the familiar notes and sang the lyrics.

She almost wished they were still Power Rangers—that their power source still worked so they could help the newest team of rangers. Her hazel eyes went to Conner. He was grinning and bobbing his head slightly to the music. He was also wearing a red plaid shirt. Some habits die hard. He had been the Dino Thunder Red Ranger. She had been the yellow ranger. The color gem that chose them had ironically enough chosen their favorite color. At least that was true for herself, Conner and Ethan.

Soon enough the set was over and she was free to join Conner at his table before her next set started.

"You sounded good," Conner said as she sat down.

She shook her head. "I need some new material. I've been playing this set for too long."

"Well, write some," he replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. If there was one thing about Conner, everything with him was black and white. What you see is what you get described Conner perfectly. Well, it almost described him perfectly.

"I try, but nothing's coming."

He scoffed. "Writer's block? Come on! Just sing the song over the phone and I'll help with the lyrics."

"And how am I supposed to do that?"

"Just prop the phone on the table and then sit in one of the chairs and start playing. I'll be able to hear it with no problem!"

Hayley came over to their table with some drinks. She placed them in front of them. "Here you go, guys," she said with a smile. "How's UCLA?" she added in the direction of Conner.

Kira knew that she shouldn't be angry at Hayley for asking about how Conner's college was going, but it reminded her strongly of the fact that she was here, going to Reefside Community College when she could have gone to NYU. Conner had gotten a full ride to UCLA on a soccer scholarship. Although, ironically, she was the only one who knew he changed his major from business to psychology in his first semester. His parents wanted him to play soccer—he wanted to be a social worker. Go figure.

"I'm interning at a CPS office this summer," he replied.

"CPS office?" Hayley sounded confused.

"Uh," he trailed off.

"It's for his community service hours," Kira rapidly made up. "He's going to teach some of the less privileged kids how to play soccer."

Hayley gave Conner a searching look before heading back to the bar and starting up a conversation with her cousin, who she had hired after Trent quit. Conner let out a long breath and grinned at Kira.

"Thanks," he said.

Kira rolled her eyes. "I'm going to start charging you for every time I have to bail you out." She paused. "You should just tell everyone what you want to do."

"It's not that easy," he replied.

"Yes it is!"

Conner shook his head and started playing the straw in his smoothie. That meant that the conversation was over—he started fidgeting when he didn't want to talk about something anymore and no amount of cajoling would get him to talk about that subject again. In a way, it surprised her that she knew him that well.

Soon, she had played her second set and Hayley was closing up the café for the evening. It was kind of touching the way Conner waited for her and walked with her out into the parking lot. He was an airhead and a flake, but he was chivalrous to a fault.

The streetlamps cast a dusty yellow glow over the street. The entrance to the café was in an alley. There was a parking garage close to it. The night air was cool and peaceful. Fall was slowly coming as it always did in California.

"So," Conner said. "You going to try for NYU again?"

"I don't know," she replied. "It was over a year ago that they offered me that scholarship. It might not be available anymore."

"Oh come on!" Conner retorted. "You are, like, the best musician ever!"

Kira smiled, touched at his fervor. She playfully punched his upper arm. "You're biased!" she accused him.

"So?" He flashed her one of his signature grins.

She rolled her eyes and they lapsed into a comfortable silence. A year ago, Conner would have started talking just to fill the silence. Now, he let the silence reign and became embroiled in his thoughts. It made her wonder what he thought about—what someone who had been the 'king of all jocks' in high school thought about. She also wondered what had made him decided suddenly that he wanted to be a social worker.

A rustle of movement by a group of trash cans caught her eye. She stopped and stared into the semi-darkness. All was still.

"What's wrong?" Conner asked, following her gaze curiously.

"I thought I saw-"

The movement came again. She started and heard footsteps retreating back down the alley towards the café. Without thinking, she took off after them, the cool night air whipping around her hair and face. She collided with something solid and realized a second too late that it was Hayley, locking up the café.

"Hayley!" she gasped. "Did you see them?"

"See what?" Hayley asked, getting to her feet.

"That thing! Something came down here!" Conner caught up to her. She turned to him frantically. "You saw that, right?" she asked him.

"Saw what, Kira?" he replied.

"That thing!" she tried to explain. "Something came down here. I think it wearing a black robe!"

Conner and Hayley shook their heads. "No," Conner said slowly. "I didn't see anything." He paused. "I think you need to get some rest."

Kira didn't reply. They hadn't seen it. She could have sworn that something came down that alley and was heading for the café. Why hadn't they seen it? She let Conner lead her to the parking garage to her car. Something was going on and she had no idea what it was or what to do about it. This was bad.

* * *

Lucivar, the Prince of the Demons, leaned back in his chair at the head of the large conference table. This was where the Dark Council met. Of course, they hadn't met in several millenniums, but who was counting? There had been dissention among the demons and what had once been a united force, splintered into factions. It hadn't helped that his sister, Vypra, had decided to follow that ridiculous Queen Banshera. If there was ever a person who took on a title to gain power, Banshera was it. She was floating around the spirit realm somewhere, probably nothing more than a wisp of a ghost. She had been a fool.

Vypra had been a fool for following her. Now she had gone missing with that insufferable Jareth who called himself a king. He knew what they were up to. He had seen that particular scroll of destiny and had tried for centuries to ensure that Vypra wouldn't try, that she wouldn't be the one to carry it out. All his efforts had failed.

He tapped his long, taped black nails against the sleek polished stone of the table. The creature hovering just in the doorway was one of the more unique around the spirit realm. He was a member of the Fairy Court and was tall and spindly. His face was shaped like an owl and he had definite avian heritage. He was a messenger in the Fairy Court. His brother was their Master of the Guard. His name was Arval Parrot and he looked terrified.

It was good to know someone was still terrified of him.

"State your business, Parrot," he snapped.

The bird-man began to visibly shake. "I come with greetings from King Boric and from Zordon."

Zordon and Boric—that was interesting. The Fairy Court had not ventured out of their territory for centuries. Zordon was the leader of the Council of Light—a small group of people who had passed into the spirit realm that either lead, helped or were part of a team of Power Rangers. There were five of them and their power was immense. Well, any team that had Zordon on it had immense power. However, none of that concerned him. He wanted to know what the Fairy Court and the Council of Light wanted with him and his small band of followers.

"They would like to meet with you to discuss a possible alliance."

"An alliance?" He kept his voice bored and neutral. "Why, pray tell?"

"What we feared is coming. They feel that it would be prudent to have the spirit realm united against them."

Them being the renegades. He nodded. "That does seem prudent. When do they propose to have this meeting?"

"Tomorrow, at the Saturn hour."

That meant tomorrow at midnight. "Tell your masters that I will attend."

Parrot bowed and hurried from the room.

Well, the fairies always had been afraid of him. Centuries ago the demons had kidnapped the fairies and enslaved them. The Council of Light, when it had still been led by Zinka, had put a stop to that. He hoped that Vypra and Jareth had not started kidnapped fairies again. Fairies were strategic geniuses when it came to battle. If they had kidnapped fairies, even one fairy, he would hunt them down himself and make sure of their ultimate entrapment in the grave. They could live for all eternity in the dirt.

Falcon and Christian, his stewards, should have a full report on what was happening by tomorrow morning. He hoped that his demons could read the signs—they had read the scroll of destiny. He had seen to that.

He rested his head in his hands. The five had stop this madness. The war and chaos could mean the end of both the realms. He didn't want them to be blinked out of existence because of his foolish sister. She had no idea what she was doing. All she cared about was the power that would be fleeting. She was a fool.

"May the darkness guide them," he whispered. 

_To Be Continued..._

* * *

**Author's Note:** I almost forgot to give some major credit to where some of the bad guys came from-- Jareth has been borrowed from _Labyrinth_ and Lucivar (the name only) has been borrowed from the _Black Jewels Trilogy_. Anyone else you do not recognize is either from me or is based on a _Brian Froud_ drawing. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed-- I have decided that the yellow rangers never get enough credit, so this fic showcases some of the more recent ones (and an old school one.) The others might come in-- we shall see. But once more, thanks and keep the cool comments coming! --EK


	3. Letters

**Disclaimer: **'Power Rangers' is copyright of Buena Vista Entertainment and others of that ilk. No infringement is intended.

**RESTLESS WARRIORS**

**Chapter Three: Letters**

_Trini waved her hand over the fire a third time. The image of Kira dissolved and left in its wake the image of a woman with blonde hair tied back in a severe bun with stern blue eyes. She was wearing some kind of military uniform and sitting behind a desk. Overall, she did not look like the world's most friendly person._

_"This is Taylor Earhardt," Trini explained. "She was the Wild Force Yellow Ranger. She will also be the hardest to contact. She lives and works in Colorado."_

_Maya thought for a moment. That would be a problem. "I could send her a letter," she suggested._

_Trini nodded. "Just make sure it gets there quickly."_

* * *

Captain Taylor Earhardt was used to some of the stranger things that went on around the military base. Of course, most of it could be chalked up a normal bureaucracy that every establishment put up with. However, she drew the line at strange letters from people she had heard of, never met and was supposedly on another planet. The day had started out normal enough, until one of her clerks brought in the mail. She never got same-day FedEx envelopes, but there was one in the mail.

And the contents of the letter had given her a reason to pause:

_Dear Taylor,_

_I am Maya, the Yellow Galaxy Rangers. You were the Yellow Wild Force Ranger. Leo told me that, because I asked him who all the yellow rangers had been. He went on this mission to the moon with some of the other red rangers and he got some of the updated ranger history. Trini told me that this mission needed yellow rangers and which yellow rangers there would be. Of course, she also told me that Dustin already knew, but he didn't contact any of us. It's okay. I'll talk to Trini tonight to be sure and I'll see Dustin tomorrow morning._

Taylor's first question had been 'who in the world were Leo, Trini and Dustin?' The woman wrote the letter like she should know who all these people were. And she didn't sound like she was sure she needed to be writing to her. Perhaps she was just one of those crazies who liked to write crank letters. Of course, most cranks would not have known her identity as a Power Ranger. That was enough to make her think twice.

_I need your help. There are demons who are trying to destroy the gates between the mortal realm and the spirit realm. If this happens, there will be chaos, war and eventually the destruction of both realms. The ancient ninjas foresaw that this task would be completed by us—me, you, Dustin, Kelsey and Kira. We are the only ones who can help the Earth and the universe._

Why? Why were they the only ones who could stop this? Couldn't there be other rangers, other military types, other religious types who could stop this? She thought that this sounded like a good time for Christian leaders who preached the Apocalypse and fire and brimstone to step in and shed some light on the world. Supernatural spirits and other realms of existence just did not seem logical to her. And who were all these people? They had to be other Power Rangers, but from where?

The rest of the letter had outlined where she needed to be and how to get there. The situation seemed more ridiculous when she realized she had to get to California and find a secret ninja academy with a secret entrance in the woods. There was only one person to call and confirm the details with—Cole, the king of believing every weird, supernatural thing he came across.

She picked up the phone and dialed his number. The phone rang twice, before a familiar voice said, "Hello?"

Never before would she have imagined she'd be so glad to hear Cole's voice. "Hey, Cole," she said shortly. "It's Taylor."

"Oh, hey Taylor!" he said in his warm, enthusiastic voice. "How's it going?"

"Fine, listen, were there other rangers named-" She glanced at the letter. "-Leo, Trini, Dustin, Kelsey, Kira and Maya?"

There was silence on the other line. "I think so," Cole replied slowly. "I'm not sure who Kira is, but Dustin was the Yellow Ninja Storm Ranger. Leo and Maya were Galaxy Rangers. Trini was one of the original rangers and Kelsey is a Lightspeed Ranger."

Leave it to Cole to know all that. "Okay," she said. "Thanks. That's all I needed to know."

"Hey, wait!" Cole protested. "What's going on?"

"When I find out, I'll let you know," she snapped and hung up the phone.

This was weird. But it sounded like important ranger business. Ordinarily, if another ranger or Princess Shayla had asked her to do something, she would have done it without blinking an eye. However, this Maya character was seeming more and more like she was slightly insane. Either that, or she had not matured beyond a trusting child. Taylor honestly did not know and did not feel like puzzling it out. She had work to do.

And yet, it kept nagging at the back of her mind. Hadn't she been expecting a call from another ranger, telling her something dire was going on? But that was stupid. Any bad feeling she got came from being in the military and being on guard for so long. Cole had known who they were and what team they came from. There had been a lot of yellow rangers on that list. There had been almost too many yellow rangers on that list for it to be a coincidence. Should she go to Blue Bay Harbor and see what was going on?

It wouldn't take too long to get there if she got permission to use one of the aircrafts at her base and took it to the base in Berkley. That would take some finagling and pulling of strings, but she was pretty sure that it could be done. And this secret meeting was supposed to take place tomorrow at noon. Could she get it done in that short period of time?

No. It was impossible.

But a little voice in the back of her head told her that she had done it once and she could do it again. Of course, that last time had been when Eric had been injured in the line of duty and no one thought he would make it. He had and now… well, he wasn't her boyfriend. In fact, she wasn't entirely sure what he was to her. But… she had gotten a plane to Silver Hills when that happened.

Fine, she inwardly growled. She would go to Blue Bay Harbor and find this ridiculous secret ninja academy and see what this Maya character thought was so important. It was against her better judgment. Perhaps she was getting soft in her old age. Old age… she snorted. She was barely thirty and already acting like an old spinster. Still fuming at her soft decision, she picked up the phone on her desk.

"Get me Major Baker," she snapped.

After a few seconds of clicks and hold music, a female, annoyed voice said. "Major Baker."

"Hey, Ginger," she said. "It's Taylor. I need a favor."

"What sort of a favor?"

"I need a plane."

"To where?"

"Berkley."

There was a pause. "Take a leave day and you can tag along with Biendorf. He's taking a small team out there to help with maintenance."

That was Ginger's way of giving her a way to go without making a splash about 'non-sanctioned' use of military aircrafts. And being in a plane for an hour with Biendorf and his bunch of nerdy mechanics wouldn't be so bad. Plus, it would ease her conscience to go see what Maya wanted.

"Thanks, Ginger!" she replied.

"Just be back in a week. That's when they come back. You aren't there by then and you have to find your own way back and then explain that to Elmo."

Elmo Zumwalt was their commanding officer and he didn't like excuses.

"Sure, thanks again."

"Don't mention it."

Ginger hung up. Taylor hung up her phone and began to rummage around in her desk for the proper paperwork. Paperwork made Elmo happy and it would be good to ease his temper before he found out she was hitching a ride with Biendorf to California.

* * *

The night air was cool. Maya shivered to herself. It was her second night on Earth. No one would be at the Wind Ninja Academy at this hour of the night. Or no one would want to be disturbed. She was sure the head sensei and his family at least lived there. Trini had told her the names of the others last night, but that Dustin had the scroll of destiny. Others had seen that scroll and had copies of it. She circled the large fire she had built. The bluff was the perfect place for this sort of thing. It faced the mountains, giving strength and stability, but it also faced the infinite sea that gave grace and change.

Taking in a long breath, she pushed up the sleeves of the light pink sweater she was wearing—Kendrix's sweater. She pulled a small leather bag from her belt, opened it and threw a handful of the dust onto the fire. The fire flared up in shades of blue and purple before settling back down to the warm yellow glow. The dust was combination of herbs, ground to a fine powder that protected the bluff and the spirit she was about to summon. Putting the bag back on her belt, she pulled a small pocket knife out of her pocket and made a cut in her index finger. She held the finger over the fire until one drop of blood fell.

"I call on the spirit of the yellow ranger that has gone beyond. I call on her for guidance in this moment of confusion."

Small lights—sparkles as she had called them from her childhood—rose off of the flames and spiraled up into the air. They settled on the opposite side of the fire from herself and took the rough shape of a human. In a burst of blue light, a woman became visible, but still transparent. She was a pretty, young Asian woman—as she had been when she died. Her robes were yellow and a smile graced her lips.

"A wish made with blood is an offering to those who have gone beyond." Trini paused after the initial intonation. "How are you, Maya?"

Maya smiled. "I'm fine." She took a deep breath. "Trini… I need to know exactly what is happening here. You've told me who I need to contact, but what is going on?"

Trini sighed. "The signs are unclear. Someone refuses to stay in the grave."

"Like the demons that the Lightspeed Rangers had to fight?"

"Some are a different kind of demon, but a demon, yes." She paused. "A war is coming and no one in your world is aware of it. And no one would believe you if you said something."

"But there must be some way I can stop this!"

"There is, but you will not be alone."

Maya stopped, remembering the others, the ones that had been assigned to this task. But there had been a scroll of destiny. Didn't that mean the ninjas had known? "But what about the ninjas?"

Trini smiled sadly. "The ninjas live their lives and practice their arts in secret. They cannot go to the world now with an ancient scroll and claim it is destiny. They understand what must be done."

"I've contacted Kelsey and Taylor."

"Good." Trini paused. "You are the Yellow Galaxy Ranger. You know the others who share your color and share the ancient animal spirits."

"The ancient animal spirits?"

"These are not like the other animal spirits that previous teams of Power Rangers have used. These are not the Ninjetti or the Wild Force spirits of the Earth. These are powerful and ancient animals to which ancient peoples aspired."

"Mythological creatures?"

"Yes." Trini smiled sadly. "Come. I will show you the others and the animal spirit that dwells with each of them." She beckoned Maya closer to the fire. Maya took a step towards the yellow flames that were licking the night sky. Trini waved a transparent hand over the fire. An image appeared like last night.

The image was of a young woman, no older than Maya herself, with brown hair in a high ponytail and bright blue eyes. She was rollerblading through a park, wearing a light yellow halter top with her skate gear. Maya recognized her. She was Kelsey Winslow, the Yellow Lightspeed Rescue Ranger. And she always seemed to be rollerblading.

"This one you know—you have fought alongside her," Trini said. "The spirit of the Pegasus is with her. She must learn to rise above the guilt that she feels and learn to dwell in the present, not on what could have been. She is the one who knows where the demons will try to enter from."

Trini waved her hand again and the image changed. This time it was of another young woman, only slightly younger than herself. She had blonde hair that was pulled back into a severe bun and ice blue eyes. She was wearing an Air Force uniform and sitting at a desk, filling out some kind of paperwork. Taylor Earhardt… the one she had sent the letter to…

"Taylor," she whispered.

Trini nodded. "She has the ability to lead you in this battle. The spirit of the Sphinx is with her. She must learn to connect with others while striking the balance between that and freedom. There is one person in particular she must reach out to."

The image dissolved and changed again. Maya did not even register that Trini had moved to change the image. A young man appeared this time. He had chocolate brown hair that was wavy and curled at the ends. His eyes were a warm, friendly light brown. He was wearing a yellow plaid shirt and cleaning some kind of bike. He looked young, no more than twenty at the most. Dustin Brooks… the Wind Ninja Academy teacher… the one she would meet in the morning…

"He was the Yellow Ninja Storm Ranger. He was a Wind Ranger and called on the power of Earth. The spirit of the Griffin is with him. He is the one who will hold this mission together. He must learn to love and open his heart to the one he has loved from afar for many years."

Dustin disappeared. He was replaced by the image of a young woman, perhaps the same age as him or a little younger. She had dark blonde hair that fell in waves to her shoulders. Her eyes were hazel and studied sheet music before plucking out a tune on her acoustic guitar. She was wearing a yellow sweater and almost looked lonely. Kira Ford… she was the one that Dustin would contact…

"The spirit of the Unicorn is with her. She has the talent to find clues and ultimately lead the mission to success. Her logical mind is astounding when she uses it. She must learn to live noble dreams always. Her dreams have fallen from their original lofty heights."

The image disappeared. "Will they help me?" Maya asked, fearfully.

Trini smiled gently and nodded. "They will, but some will take more persuading than others. You already have Dustin on your side. He possessed the scroll of destiny and is awaiting your arrival. Kira and Kelsey will most probably help you without much question. Taylor is the only one that may be stubborn at first."

"What should I do when we're all together?"

"Bring them here," Trini said. "Call upon me when all five of you are together and I will explain what has been happening in more detail. I will tell them of their roles and their ancient animal spirits."

"What if they don't want to come or they don't believe me?"

Trini smiled. "They will come. Do not let initial rejection be the final factor." She paused, reaching out, over the fire to Maya. "You are strong. The spirit of the Phoenix is with you."

"The Phoenix?"

"The Phoenix rises from the ashes to begin a new life. Remember that happy endings are nothing more than new beginnings. The Earth will be given a new beginning if the five of you can work together and overcome your personal obstacles."

Maya nodded. "I'll do my best."

"You will not fail. Trust your instincts and follow your heart."

* * *

The sun was just coming over the horizon when Dustin parked his car in a secluded clearing near the secret entrance portal to the school. Cam had designated a parking area some time ago, when the police had started towing cars that were parked along the edge of the dirt road with no apparent owners or people coming back to them. It worked well. Dustin got out of his car and spent a few moments fumbling with his keys to lock it. It was a beat-up '65 Beetle that had once been yellow and worked intermittently. However, it was all he could afford. Never mind the fact that he had two jobs…

"Sensei!"

Dustin turned to the sound of one his students. That particular student was on the Academy Guard—they patrolled the forest at all times to make sure the portal and the woods around it remained hidden and safe from intruders. The Guard had been stepped up a couple notches after Lothor invaded and stole most of the old buildings and students.

"What's up?" he asked, shouldering his backpack and heading towards the waterfall entrance and the students.

The students gave him strange looks. He frowned and looked down at his clothing—and was met by a bright yellow t-shirt. Oops, forgot to change into his ninja outfit after getting out of the car. Not like it would matter unless Sensei or Cam saw him.

"We caught this intruder," one of the water students Dustin didn't recognize said.

"Okay," he said slowly.

The students brought forward a bedraggled looking woman. Her brown hair was long and on the messy side, especially since it was loose. She had on dirty brown cargo pants, hiking boots that were caked in mud and a surprisingly clean pink sweater. She looked extremely familiar too, but he couldn't place from where.

"Do I know you?" he asked her.

The woman looked up and he was surprised by the look in her brown eyes. It was a wild, almost pleading look. "I'm Maya," she replied.

Maya… she was the Yellow Galaxy Ranger. She was the one who Cam said might show up at the Academy. He looked to the students. "Let her go," he ordered.

"You know her, Sensei?" one of the air students asked.

"Yes," he snapped. "Now get back on the patrol or whatever it is that you guys do!"

The students ninja streaked away. Their abrupt departure threw Maya off balance and she threw out her arms to break her fall. Moving quickly, Dustin intercepted the fall and she ended up sprawled in his arms. Trying not to blush, Dustin quickly righted her and picked up the small knapsack she had dropped.

"Sorry about them," he apologized quickly. "They're a little crazy." He smiled and laughed, but the laugh quickly died when he saw the bewildered look on her face.

"I'm Dustin," he said, hoping for some recognition from her.

"I made it," she whispered.

"Yeah…" he trailed off. She looked pale and had dark smudges under her eyes. "Listen, you don't look so good. Why don't you come with me? I'm sure Cam will get you something to eat and find some place for you to crash."

Maya squeezed her eyes shut like she was trying to remember something. "You're the Yellow Wind Ranger?" she asked.

"Yeah," he replied.

Without warning, Maya pitched forward and Dustin sprang up to catch her before she hit the ground again. "I'm sorry," she muttered into his chest.

"It's okay," he breathed. "When's the last time you slept or ate anything?"

She shrugged. He sighed.

"Okay… when did you get off the shuttle from Mirinoi?"

"Day before yesterday."

"I see…" He paused. "Can you walk?"

She nodded. "I think so. Call Kira. The others are coming today," she added quickly.

"I'll have the Guard keep an eye out for them." He set her down on her feet and took her arm. "Come on. Cam'll give you some food and a bed, maybe a shower."

Maya smiled at him, but allowed him to lead her to the secret portal. Thank God for small blessings… 

_To Be Continued..._

* * *

**Author's Note:** A big thank-you goes out to everyone who has reviewed-- you guys rock! Well, onward and upwards with the story! --EK


	4. Explanations

**Disclaimer: **'Power Rangers' is copyright of Buena Vista Entertainment and others of that ilk. No infringement is intended.

**RESTLESS WARRIORS**

**Chapter Four: Explanations**

Maya sighed and snuggled into the blankets. Wait a second… blankets? She sat straight up in bed and looked around. Wherever she was, it wasn't on Mirinoi and it was nowhere she had slept on Earth. Then it all came tumbling back to her. She was at the Wind Ninja Academy and this was someone's bedroom from the looks of it. The comforter was dark green and the room was devoid of decorations except for a few photos. A laptop was on the desk next to a door that Cam had explained led to a bathroom. A digital clock on the nightstand read 10:45 and from the sun outside, she assumed it was still morning.

Dustin had helped her get to the building that was the actual academy. A man named Cam, who had been another Ninja Storm Ranger was another sensei here and whose father was the head of the school, had given her a meal without asking questions. He had then dug up some clothes for her to sleep in, promising to wash what she had. He had then guided her towards a shower and a place to sleep. She looked down at the oversized striped green button-up shirt and loose gray pajama pants. Neither garment appeared to be something Cam wore overmuch. He also appeared to really like the color green.

"Dustin, you need to go check on her," a voice came from the hallway.

"No way, dude! I can't just, like, walk in on a girl. Tori used to beat me up for doing that when we were younger!"

"Chances are she's sleeping so you'll avoid getting hit."

"Dude, you're not very nice!" Dustin whined. Maya smiled. She had not realized until seeing him in person how young he actually was.

"When was I ever nice?" There was a pause. "Take her laundry in to her and use that as an excuse for barging in. If it makes you feel better, blame it on me."

She decided to give Dustin a break. Pushing away the blankets, she got out of bed and padded across to the door that led to the hallway. She opened it just as Cam was handing Dustin a stack of washed and folded clothes. Both of them were in some sort of uniform, probably what the teachers at this academy wore.

"You got lucky," Cam said smugly to Dustin. He added in her direction, "Do you feel better?"

Maya nodded, smiling. "I do."

"Good," Cam replied. "Feel free to raid the kitchen. I've got to get back to my students. See you guys later!" He took off down the hallway.

"Later, dude!" Dustin called after him. He looked around awkwardly for a moment. "Oh," he said, his cheeks growing pink as he handed her the stack of clothes.

"Thanks," she replied, taking the clothes from him. "Come on in." She opened the door and gestured him in. He followed her in, but still looked incredibly awkward. "Just give me a second to change," she said, going into the bathroom.

Dustin really was young. She would have guessed eighteen or nineteen, twenty at the most. She supposed, from what Kendrix and the others had said of Earth, he would have just graduated from high school and was probably either working or attending university classes. Maybe he was doing both and that was why he seemed a touch too pale and pinched to be entirely healthy. She didn't want to pry, but figured that it would probably come up over the coming weeks. He seemed like a genuine person—nothing hidden from the world. If he could get over being awkward around her—an unknown older woman—then things would go well.

She put on the cargo pants and sweater from this morning, now clean. She then pulled on a pair of thick wool sock meant to go with hiking boots. Well, she wasn't sure what Cam had done with her boots, but it wasn't necessary to find out at this moment in time.

Dustin was staring at the laptop and laptop accessories when she came out of the bathroom. "Can you believe with all this stuff he refuses to buy games?" he asked absently. Upon noticing Maya properly, he snapped to attention, his cheeks coloring again.

"Why don't we go downstairs?" she suggested as she pulled the blankets into place on Cam's bed and laid the folded borrowed clothes at the foot.

"Sure," Dustin replied.

The trip downstairs was wordless. They ran into Cam and three others, presumably students, heading for another part of the academy. Dustin led her into the kitchen and they settled down at the table.

"Are you all right?" she asked him.

He opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off by the arrival of another man in the room. He was wearing a teaching uniform like Dustin's, but where his was yellow, it was red. He carried a scroll and whacked Dustin on the side of the head with it.

"Ow!" Dustin cried, rubbing his temple. "Dude! That's not cool!"

"Sorry," the man in red said. "Hunter's here and Sensei wants you and Maya to meet with him in Ninja Ops before the others arrive.

Did everyone here know about her? Dustin nodded to the man and he left the kitchen. "Who was that?" she asked.

"Shane," Dustin said sullenly. Maya smiled. This was obviously a subject that he felt comfortable talking about. Well, friends were normally something people liked to talk about. "He's an idiot," he grumbled. She had the feeling that he didn't mean that, but it gave him an outlet to vent. "He's the air teacher."

"Is he an airhead?"

Dustin looked up at her, momentarily surprised by what she said, before he started laughing. His laugh was warm and sincere. "Actually, they accuse me of being the airhead." He paused. "We need to get to Ninja Ops."

As they stood up and began the walk, she asked, "What's Ninja Ops?"

"It was all that was left of the academy when Lothor and his space freaks decimated the grounds, kidnapped all the ninjas and turned Sensei into a guinea pig." Maya smiled. He was more intelligent than his persona gave him credit for. "It was kind of like our headquarters when we were rangers. Lothor destroyed the place, but the samurai students' project was to fix it up. Now it's kind of like a faculty lounge. All the teachers can hang there."

Dustin stopped in the middle of a hallway and pulled up a trap door. Maya would have completely missed it had he not stopped. A short set of stairs led them to a spacious room with a table in the middle. The older man there she assumed was the 'Sensei' that Dustin referred to and was Cam's father from the resemblance. Cam was there, along with the man in red, a young woman with blonde hair in blue and another man wearing a dark red teacher's uniform who also had blonde hair.

The older man stood up. "Welcome," he said to her. "I am Kanoi Wantanabe." He motioned around the table at each person as he introduced them. "You know my son, Cameron. This is Shane Clarke and Tori Hanson, the air and water teachers here." He motioned to the man in red and the lone woman. "And this is Hunter Bradley, the head teacher at the Thunder Ninja Academy." The blonde man nodded.

Cam spread out the scroll that Shane had been carrying. Maya stepped forward. It was the scroll of destiny that Trini had told her about. "The scroll," she breathed, fingering the drawings of the five yellow rangers.

"You knew about this," Kanoi asked her.

She nodded. "Trini told me."

"Dude," Dustin whispered. "Isn't she, like, dead?"

"I think perhaps we should listen to Maya's story," Kanoi said, silencing the others who were about to contribute their two cents worth.

Maya nodded. It was time for Dustin to know what she did. They both held one of the keys to putting this mystery together. She took a deep breath. "I saw the signs a while ago when I was still on Mirinoi. That's why I came to Earth. My people practice the art of communicating with the dead…"

* * *

Kira had known that the Wind Ninja Academy was shrouded in secrecy, but she hadn't expected to wander around in the woods looking for a spot that didn't seem to exist. Dustin had called her that morning, sounding frazzled and frantic. He had wanted her to get to the academy by noon, because the others were coming. What others she still had to find out. It sounded like it had something to do with the strange things she had been sensing. So she chose to trust Dustin when he said all would be explained.

That would be great, if she could find this waterfall that Dustin kept babbling about. There was a clearing in the woods that served as a parking lot—she had found that with no problem. He had then told her to follow the rough path that led out of the clearing and keep going straight when the path disappeared. In a few minutes, she would come across a waterfall. By then, one of the ninja students would have found her and would help her come the rest of the way to the academy.

No waterfall. No ninja student. No way to get back to the parking lot.

This was lovely. What had made her listen to Dustin in the first place was starting to seem questionable. Sure, she knew him when he and the other Ninja Storm Rangers had helped her team out when Lothor decided the Abyss of Evil was getting boring. All she knew about him was that he was a teacher at the Wind Ninja Academy and he was an airhead. Perhaps the airhead thing was coming out and he forgot to mention a key landmark when trying to find this blasted waterfall.

"Looking for the Wind Ninja Academy?"

She turned to see a young woman with brown hair in a high ponytail coming towards her from another part of the woods. Kira gave her a questioning look. "Who are you?"

The woman smiled. "I'm Kelsey. I was the Lightspeed Rescue Yellow Ranger."

Kira returned the smile. "Kira. Dino Thunder Yellow Ranger."

"Did Maya call you too?"

She shook her head. "Dustin called me. But from the fact that we're both lost, I'm assuming both of them gave shoddy directions."

Kelsey laughed. "Normally I have a decent sense of direction, but I think someone designed this place to throw you off."

"No kidding," Kira muttered. "Damn ninjas."

Kelsey grinned. Kira immediately liked her. She seemed to be one of those people who just went with the flow and not much bothered them. They were both obviously lost in the woods with no way of getting to their cars again and Kelsey was smiling and laughing. She supposed that the phrase 'like calls to like' made sense in the case of former rangers. It also helped that Kelsey was wearing a light yellow shirt under a bright yellow windbreaker. Kira looked down and realized she had on her yellow Converses. Perhaps things were more obvious than they appeared.

"So let's just keep going this way," Kelsey suggested, motioning to the direction that Kira had been trudging. "We're bound to find something." She paused. "Maybe it will only be the other side of the woods, but it'll be something."

"I like the idea of getting out of these woods," Kira agreed.

"So what do you do for a living?" Kelsey asked as they pretended to know where they were going in the foliage.

"I'm a musician," she replied. "I sing, play guitar."

"Do you go to school?"

"Yeah. Third semester at community college, although I could have gone to NYU."

Kelsey gave her a sidelong glance, blue eyes curious. "Why didn't you?"

"Long story," she said evasively. "How about you? What do you do?"

"I work at a rock gym. It's pretty nice except when youth groups bring the kids and dump them off, expecting us to discipline them."

"Don't like kids?"

"Oh, I like kids. I just don't like them in large groups. I never would have lasted as a camp counselor."

"I hear that." Kira paused as Kelsey stopped and appeared to be listening to something. She stopped and tried to listen.

"Running water," Kelsey said. "If we find that, then this elusive waterfall won't be too far off."

"All right," Kira said with a grin.

"Password."

They both froze at the sound of the voice. Turning slowly, Kira saw a sight she had never thought she would be so glad to see. There was a ninja student in the traditional black leather outfit. His was blue and the girl next to him had a red one on. Their faces were obscured by the ridiculous looking hats and masks that they wore. So they were facing an air student and a water student. Somehow it didn't surprise her that Dustin's students were not the ones patrolling the forest for intruders.

And Dustin had told her the password.

"Air, water and earth as one."

Both the students froze. "How did you know that?" the girl sputtered. Kelsey looked like she wanted to ask the same thing.

"We're here to see the earth sensei," she replied. "Sensei Brooks."

"You're the ones he's expecting."

"There're only two of them."

"Maybe the other is lost further in the woods."

"Send Marah and the others to look for them. And make sure Marah has a partner."

The girl disappeared. The boy bowed to them. "Come on. I'll take you to the academy. Sensei Brooks and Maya are waiting for you."

Kira and Kelsey exchanged a look before following the boy in blue through the woods. He appeared to know where he was going, so there was no need to question him. "I'll never get over how weird their outfits are," Kira muttered to Kelsey.

Kelsey glanced at the boy and stifled a giggle. He either didn't hear them or was choosing to ignore them. Soon enough they came to a waterfall that fell into a small pool. A group of people was by the pool. Kira recognized the man giving orders to the students as Cam Wantanabe. The girl looking confused in a red uniform was Marah. She told Kelsey all this in an undertone as they approached the group. Some students in green along with Marah and some others streaked away. Cam turned to them.

"They found you." It wasn't a question. "Come on. Dustin and Maya are waiting in Ninja Ops." He stepped out onto the pool for all intents and purposes walking on water. He turned when neither of them followed him.

"You are walking on water," Kelsey stated, even though it was obvious. Kira inwardly seconded the sentiment.

Cam came to the shore and held out a hand for each of them. They exchanged another glance and took his extended hands. Kira had no idea what he did, but she felt a tickling sensation before she felt light as a feather, like she was floating. One glance at Kelsey told her that she was feeling the same thing. He led them across the pool and through a portal. One second they were in the middle of the pool and the next they were standing on a bluff that overlooked the Wind Ninja Academy and its grounds.

The trip across the grounds and into the building was silent. Cam opened a trapdoor in one of the hallways and they found themselves in an underground control room of sorts. Dustin was sitting at the table in the center of the room along with Hunter, Tori, Shane, Cam's father and a woman that Kira assumed was Maya.

"You made it!" Maya said, standing up to greet them. She then introduced everyone in the room to Kelsey and herself to Kira. She looked of the ilk as Kelsey—maybe a little more wild and a little more rustic, but friendly and easygoing all the same.

The ninja teachers stood up and left the room, saying their goodbyes and promising to be in earshot if any of them were needed. Kira approached the table and stared at the scroll lying open in the center of it. The pictures on it showed her as one of the five that would complete a task.

"Who drew this?" she asked Dustin.

He drew in a deep breath. He looked confused and slightly afraid, as well as looking like he had the beginnings of a cold. "One of the ancient ninjas," he replied. "That scroll is thousands of years old."

Kira looked at him, her hazel eyes meeting his brown eyes. "What's going on?"

* * *

Lucivar looked around the familiar faces at the table. For centuries he had been accused of isolationism, keeping himself and his demons away from the other factions in the realm. Well, no one had anything good to say about them when they had wandered the realm freely, why should it matter that they kept to themselves. He glanced at the stewards standing behind their masters around the large conference table. He recognized Parrot and the Green Man, Primrose and Dreamweaver, Boon and Iris—all fairies of different species and talents. The only one missing was Owling Byrrd, Parrot's brother and the Master of the Guard. Fairies co-existed between the realms. They were able to stay in the spirit realm without being called upon and could stay longer before their energy began to drain. Boric was their king and no one could miss him and his entourage when they chose to leave Fairyland.

Falcon and Christian were standing behind him, stoic and solid as usual. He represented what was left of the Dark Council. The rest of the demons had scattered and there was almost no help of uniting them in a short time.

The Council of Light had all its members present and none of them had stewards. They represented the rest of the spirit realm. Demons and others of that ilk picked another demon as a leader and followed him or her. Fairies kept to themselves. The others currently looked to Power Rangers as their leader.

Zordon was head of the Council of Light. Dimitria was there although she tended to keep an eye on her reformed and very much alive sister, Divatox. The Magna Defender was now on the council, even though his son, Zinka, had led the council for a long time. The newest addition to that council had been Trini Kwan, a ranger in life who met her demise too early.

He kept his expression neutral as Zordon stood up to start the proceedings.

"We are here to discuss an alliance between the Dark Council, the Council of Light and the Fairy Court," Zordon intoned in his rich, deep voice. He was wearing a simple black robe. If Lucivar had been unaware of their power, he would have said that the Council of Light looked like one motley crew. Black, white, strange armor and yellow burst out from their section of the table.

"The worst is happening. It has been put into motion," Zordon continued. "It would be best to have the three major powers in the spirit realm unified against them."

Lucivar tapped the table impatiently with his long fingernails. "Leave Vypra herself to me," he said softly. "She will pay for this madness."

"Lucivar," the Magna Defender replied, almost disgusted. "You have read the scroll of destiny. Only the five can stop this now that it has started."

"I'm sure they can stop it, but I want Vypra when all is said and done."

"We can make that accommodation," Zordon replied carefully, laying a hand on the Magna Defender's shoulder to stop any forthcoming storms.

Lucivar leaned back and listened to Zordon continue to talk about what an alliance would do in this time of peril. He glanced to Boric. The fairy king was beautiful by any standards—golden skin, blonde hair that curled slightly at the ends, stunningly blue eyes, a finely sculpted body—and he was obviously upset with the proceedings.

Well, well… an alliance might take some time coming, more time than Zordon thought it would. He sighed, hoping that the five were strong enough to stop Vypra and Jareth and any others they had ensnared with their plot. 

_To Be Continued..._

* * *

**Author's Note:** Thanks for all the great feedback guys! I'm back in college with the cable internet-- great internet, but not too thrilled about being back here and facing four lit classes this semester. :) At any rate, I apologize for it taking longer than normal for me to update. So, I would like to pick up a practice that I have not been keeping up with in my past few stories-- reviewer responses! (I do not have the review e-mail alerts on, so I have to come here to manually check for reviews. Leaving everyone messages at the end of a chapter is easier!)

**Aria Fox**- Thanks for your sweet comments! I'm flattered that you decided to read this in spite of the fact that you do not like color team-ups. As for the ninjas not liking outsiders-- that is true, however, the teachers (especially Kanoi and Cam) have seen this particular scroll of destiny and know that Dustin and the others have to get together. In light of that, I feel that they would be willing to offer their resources to help them out, such as letting them all gather at the school. However, that is just me. I hope you decide to keep reading and once more, thanks for your review!

**CamFan4Ever**- Thanks! I'm glad you like it! :)

**fenestrae**- I love Dustin too-- he's adorable in a lovable dingbat sort of way. And he will definitely be coming into the story full force along with the others! :)

**Funky In Fishnet**- Thanks for your kind words! I'm glad you like the story! I do like Eric/Taylor myself, the only problem is that most writers cannot put a realistic spin on it. But once more, thanks for reviewing!

**Hagar**- You have a good point that I might be writing Taylor too frosty. My take on her current attitude is that she's been immersed in the military lifestyle once more, has little tolerance for Dustin and doesn't know the other three from anyone else-- so, she's going to be hesitant and frosty towards them for a while. I do admit, I have not seen many Wild Force episodes, so input about those characters is always appreciated! :) Thanks for your kind words!

**Peter Smith**- Thanks for your kind words! I'm glad you like the story!

**Satori Blackthorn**- I don't see Kira as pure and innocent either. Unicorns always struck me as fierce fighters, despite what some of the other legends might say. To me, she's a fighter, but graceful and beautiful while fighting. (And I LOVE the Chronicles of Narnia!) I'm glad your liking the story!

**Sreym**- Thanks! I'm glad the animal spirits are working out! :)

**Stormchild**- I'm glad you like the concept. Dustin and the others involved are all rangers that I like, but feel they do not receive enough credit. I'm glad you like the story and I will endeavor to keep the updates pretty consistent.


	5. Meetings and Answers

**Disclaimer: **'Power Rangers' is copyright of Buena Vista Entertainment and others of that ilk. No infringement is intended.

**RESTLESS WARRIORS**

By Etcetera Kit

**Chapter Five: Meetings and Answers**

Taylor rolled her eyes and checked her watch for the umpteenth time. As much as she really wanted to get to Blue Bay Harbor, she hadn't bargained on Biendorf and the geek squad annoying her this much. Baker really had a sense of humor making her travel with this bunch of societal rejects. Of course, Baker tended to operate like that, so she shouldn't have been surprised. Sighing impatiently, she focused her eyes on a spot near the door.

_"You're impatient and can't stand stupid people. You want things done right the first time. You tend to be a perfectionist. That's why we get along."_

As much as she wanted those words to be from a fortune cookie, they weren't. His voice always came floating back to her with some pearl of wisdom he had dropped in the times they spent together. His background was similar to hers, but more chaotic. She had come from solid middle class Catholic Americans. Eric's father's family fit that description. His mother was just the poor Chinese girl that got dragged into all of it. The Myers men drank a little too much, cheated on their wives and dabbled in illegal activity. The Myers women ignored the men, beat them in the head when their dalliances got noticeable and kept the family together with sack lunches and Band-Aides.

Eric was the strange one—the one man that didn't fit that description. That was probably why he was barely thirty, not married and had no intentions of ever doing so. And why in the world was she thinking about Eric and his dysfunctional family?

She sighed. So much had happened since she had been a ranger, since she had given her powers back to Princess Shayla for good. Most of it started and ended with Eric, but coming back to the military had been another adjustment. She was a captain and had some rank and authority. However, that meant she had to deal with people like Baker and Biendorf on a regular basis. Hell, most of the time she preferred Zumwalt to them.

She glanced at her watch. It was straight up noon. Well, she was officially late for this meeting. It had occurred to her time and time again that while she had this feeling of impending doom, she had no idea what this meeting was about, what was going on or even who most of these other rangers were. She knew of Dustin. Well, that wasn't entirely accurate. She had met him on one occasion and it had been short and to the point. The maturity level of the Ninja Storm Rangers left much to be desired.

"Berkley, we're coming in for a landing."

Taylor had never thought she would be so glad to hear those words. Normally she loved flying and being in the air and the trip back to the ground was met with some regret, but she wanted to be away from the geek squad.

The plane landed and she deplaned with the rest of the squad. She straightened her jacket before heading into the main building. Wearing full dress uniform had seemed a bit extreme, but it was handy in getting service quickly. That was what she needed. She found a secretary who told her about a car rental place across the street. In moments, she had a rental car and was cruising down the highway towards Blue Bay Harbor. If she could get there without getting pulled over, all the better.

Dammit, that brought up Eric again. Their first meeting had been when he pulled her over to give her a speeding ticket. All right, so she had been going almost twenty miles over the speed limit and talking on a cell phone, but who remembered that? Eric did and he reminded her of it more often than she would like. He might have enough charm to get her into bed every so often, but his interpersonal skills left something lacking.

The digital clock in the car read 1:30. Two hours late… that was beyond rude in her book. However, she didn't have a single phone number she could call to let someone know that she was indeed on her way. It would have made sense to get Cole to give her Dustin's number—she was sure the jungle boy had it somewhere in his mental banks. In fact, that brought up an excellent solution to the problem.

She called Cole.

And she was lucky to have caught him between classes. He was working on a degree in veterinary medicine and some of his classes met at odd times. It was a good bet trying to get to him during the week, but the evenings and weekends? Almost impossible.

"Hello?" he asked, always sounding happy and in a good mood.

"It's Taylor." She didn't wait for him to respond. "I need Dustin's phone number."

Luckily enough, Cole knew exactly who she was talking about. There was a moment's pause and some shuffling before he began reading off a number. She dug around in her purse and found a pen and old receipt she could write it on.

"Thanks, Cole."

"Good luck," he replied cheerily.

"Thanks, I think," she said before hanging up on Cole and dialing Dustin's number. She glanced out the window at the road, so she wouldn't miss the turn off for the back roads that led to the Wind Ninja Academy. The phone began to ring.

"Hello?" came a male voice into the phone while someone in the background yelled, 'Dude! You have got to change that ring tone.'

"Is this Dustin?" she asked.

"Yeah," he replied cautiously. "Who is this?"

"It's Taylor Earhardt." She never introduced herself to casual acquaintances by her first and last name, but she felt the need to here. Not that Dustin would be expecting anyone else named Taylor to be calling his phone.

"Oh." There was a pause. "Cool. Where are you?"

Dear God, she was going to kill him within half an hour of this meeting. "I'm just turning onto FM 1954 right now. ETA twenty minutes."

"ETA?"

"Estimated time of arrival," she said, trying to keep the edge off her voice.

"Oh. Right on. See you then." He then quickly told her the password.

"Uh huh." She disconnected the call. Why did Dustin have to sound like such a complete and utter idiot? He had to be smarter than that. No one was that stupid. Then she thought of Max and his pal, Danny. Those two had driven her up a wall with their dumb antics and general stupidity. If she could deal with their constant companionship for a year, then couldn't she put up with Dustin for an afternoon? Maybe. She didn't know the other three and hoped that they were not of the same ilk as Dustin.

She glanced at the instructions Maya had given her and turned down the correct road. In a few minutes, she came upon a dirt parking lot full of cars. This had to be the place—cars parked in the middle of the woods? Who else did that sort of thing? She got out of the car and locked it, shouldered her purse and small bag before heading into the woods on the trail that Maya claimed would get her there.

Almost immediately, she was accosted by people in ninja outfits. She stopped and gave them a bored look. "Before you ask," she snapped. "Air, water and earth as one."

The ninjas froze where they stood, obviously confused by the non-sequential order of events. Finally, one of the ones in yellow stepped forward. "Are you here to see Sensei Brooks?"

Okay, that just sounded weird. She nodded, already regretting wearing full dress uniform, complete with heels, out into the middle of the woods. The ninja beckoned for her to follow him and soon she found herself at the waterfall that Maya had mentioned in the letter. In no time, after going through a portal and practically being carried across the lake-thing by the ninja as he walked on water, she found herself entering a room underneath the academy building and looking at a group of people that had to be the weirdest looking bunch ever assembled.

She picked out Dustin from the rest of the group and pinned him to the wall with a stare that made new recruits squirm. "What the hell is going on here?" she spat.

* * *

Dustin let out a long breath and followed Maya up the footpath that led to a bluff overlooking the ocean. One side of it was walled in by the mountains, but the other side opened up to the beach below. He had been here before with his students. New students, before they were assigned to an element, were exposed to air, earth and water to see which they gravitated towards. This place had plenty of all three. A sensei took the new students up here and let them roam around for some time while watching them closely. A student who went down the bluff and stayed near the ocean was probably water. One who stayed on the bluff, close to the mountain was probably earth. A student who sat on the edge of the bluff and welcomed the breeze was probably air. That wasn't the only way to determine which element one belonged to, but it started the separation process. 

He glanced behind him to make sure the others were still with him. Kira was right behind him, with Kelsey close on her tail. Taylor brought up the rear. He wasn't sure what he had said, but she seemed to dislike him more than her disdain for everything else. She was cool and sharp-tongued. She had changed from her military uniform to jeans and a t-shirt before this outing occurred. He and Maya had taken turns explaining things to her. She hadn't looked happy to receive the news, but seemed resigned to it. Power Rangers did help one another and look out for each other as much as it might not be the most fun thing in the world. Taylor looked like she was going to do her duty, no matter how much she abhorred it.

They reached the top of the path and the path opened out onto the bluff. The ground here was hard earth and trampled grass from years upon years of academy students frequenting the place. The remains of a fire were at the center. That was new. It must have been where Maya had summoned Trini the other night. He knew that no students had been here in the past two days and they certainly wouldn't have been allowed to build a fire.

Dustin noticed a pile of wood sitting near the newly constructed fire circle.

"We need a fire," Maya stated.

"Just how big a fire are we talking about here?" Dustin asked, trying to crush the tremor in his voice.

"Are you afraid of fire?" Kira asked, her tone gentle and teasing.

He gulped and the amused expressions on Kira and Maya's faces melted into concern. Maya just walked up to him and cupped his face between her palms. "This fire will be controlled," she whispered, her brown eyes compassionate and understanding. "There is nothing to worry about." Her voice was soothing. There was something about her that immediately relaxed a tense person.

In what seemed to be no time at all, they had built the fire and the yellow-orange flames were licking the night sky. He swallowed a lump in his throat and looked into the flames. The dancing rhythm was soothing in a way. He had had bad experiences with fire before, but perhaps he could get used to this.

"Make a half-circle," Maya ordered softly, indicating which side of the fire the four of them should stand by. Dustin found himself on one end of the half-circle next to Kira. Kelsey and then Taylor completed the chain. Maya remained standing by the fire.

She pulled a small bag from her belt and threw a handful of the contents over the fire. He watched as the fire flared up and turned to cool shades of purple and blue, before settling back to the warm yellow flames it had been. "I call on the spirit of the Yellow Ranger that has gone beyond. I call on her for guidance in this moment of confusion." Dustin watched, half in fascination and half in horror as she took a small knife from her belt and cut her index finger. She held the finger over the fire and a drop of blood fell onto the flames.

"A wish made with blood is an offering to those who have gone beyond."

A woman seemed to appear out of thin air. She remained transparent with a bluish tint around her. She smiled at all of them.

"I told you they would all come, Maya," the woman said in a gentle tone. She looked up at the four of them. "Welcome friends, I am Trini Kwan, the only ranger to pass into the spirit world."

Dustin felt his jaw drop open. They had just summoned up a ghost? He had believed Maya when she said she summoned Trini back in Ninja Ops in full daylight with lights on down there and a room full of people, but it took on new meaning and depth while standing around a fire at night.

"I was the first Yellow Ranger on Earth," Trini continued. "You have all followed in the tradition and become Yellow Rangers long after I."

"So what are we doing here?" Taylor asked, speaking up for the first time, since they had started the hike out here. She sounded pretty annoyed. Dustin wasn't sure if she was just like that all the time or if her nerves were on end from the events that had happened today.

"You five have been chosen. The ancient animal spirits have been dwelling with each of you for some time now. Now you must realize that spirit and take up your destiny, the destiny to give Earth a new beginning when evil threatens."

"Chosen?" Taylor sounded skeptical. Dustin tried not to snort. She had seen the scroll of destiny and listened to Maya's story. Did she still not believe the scroll was ancient and that those scrolls did not lie?

"This quest must be done together," Trini said, giving Taylor a serene look. "You will all learn what you need to know in order to succeed." She paused. "Demons are back and trying to bridge the gap once more between their world and yours. This cannot happen. You five have been destined from the dawn of time to stop this new invasion."

"Vypra," Kelsey said. "It's Vypra. She's the only demon I know of that matches the description from the scroll of destiny."

"She is one of them. She has recruited another from the dark spirit realm. There is much about this that I do not know. The signs are still unclear. The only clear sign was that the five of you needed to be called together to start on your quest."

Trini smiled at them. "Do not be afraid. I will send you with the wisdom you need to complete this quest." She walked over to them, starting with Dustin. He felt a slight pang of anxiety, but the moment he gazed into Trini's warm dark eyes, all his fear dissipated. "True blue… forever sapphire blue," she started. His first thought at the mention of blue was Tori, her blue eyes, blonde hair… "Love does happen! Look for it above all other luster… kindness, humor, loyalty, respect and a sterling devotion to 'us' and 'we'."

He felt slightly confused. Did he ever say he didn't believe in love? But Trini had already moved to Kira. "Live noble dreams, now and always," she said to the Dino Thunder Ranger. Kira looked confused, probably mirroring his expression.

Trini just continued in the circle, stopping next in front of Kelsey. "Guilt and shame do not belong in your wardrobe of feelings… wear pride, self-respect and love. Pitch 'should've', 'could've', 'would've' and 'what if only'." Kelsey looked as confused as Dustin felt also.

Finally, she came to Taylor. "Life is a solitary expedition in search of the balance between bald eagle freedom and the desire to be connected to others like bubblegum on a shoe." Taylor gaped at Trini, as though she thought the woman had gone completely nuts.

Trini went back to her place on the other side of the fire. Maya stepped back into the half-circle between Kira and Kelsey. Trini looked at the fire for a moment, before waving her hand over it. Shapes began to form from the smoke and take life, each shape flying before each one of them.

"These are your ancient animal spirits," Trini said. Dustin looked at the smoke figure before him. It was a griffin. The only reason he knew that was because he played a couple of fantasy video games where that creature was seen in it. The smoke figures blew away with the breeze that kicked up.

"Kelsey," Trini said. "You know where to find their layer. You battled with Vypra for a long time. Taylor, if you are willing to believe, then you can lead this mission to success. Kira, the path of bread crumbs is yours to decipher. Maya, you have brought them this far. You will remain in contact with the spirit world if you need my help." She turned to him. "Dustin, you are the caretaker, but you first must take care of yourself before the others."

"There isn't much time left," Maya stated softly.

"No, there isn't." Trini smiled at all of them, her expression loving. "I wish that I could join you on this quest, but I cannot. It is forbidden for a spirit who has crossed over to rejoin the mortal world. Do not fail us. We are all counting on you."

"We?" Kira asked.

"Myself, Zordon, the Magna Defender, Zinka… there are fewer of us in the spirit world than you may think. Do not fail us," she repeated.

With that, Trini disappeared into a cloud of blue smoke and sparkles. Dustin stared at the spot she had been in for a while. It was amazing… she truly wanted them to go on this mission to save the world. He had not felt such an awesome responsibility since he had become a ranger almost three years ago.

Taylor broke the silence. "I guess we should come up with some sort of plan of action." Dustin could suddenly see why she was the appointed leader. She may not be nice, but she certainly seemed like she was organized and could get things done.

"Can we stay at the school tonight?" Kelsey asked.

He nodded. "It shouldn't be a problem."

"Then we stay there tonight and figure out what to do first," Taylor said with an air of finality. "Everyone can take care of their jobs and family tomorrow morning."

As much as he didn't want to like Taylor, she had a point. They put out the fire and headed down the bluff, staying close in the bright moonlight since no one had thought to bring a flashlight. He tried to concentrate on what had happened, what they needed to do for tomorrow, but all he could think about was Tori intertwined with images of a griffin, wondering what it all meant.

* * *

Zordon sighed and looked around at the faces at the conference table. Boric looked anxious and appeared willing to agree to anything but an alliance to have this meeting over with and be back in safety in Fairyland. He hated to tell him that nothing was safe as long as the renegades were still on the loose and threatening to decimate the gates. Lucivar looked bored and neutral as he always did in the times he met with anyone. 

"My people have kept to themselves for centuries," Boric was saying. "My Master of the Guard, Owling Byrrd is now missing. He is not in Fairyland."

"This is why you won't agree to the alliance?" the Magna Defender asked.

"Whom do you suspect?" Zordon asked.

The door to the room opened and Trini hurried in, sliding into her seat. She had left when she had been summoned by the five. Apparently, she had imparted her wisdom and was back at the meeting that was taking too long already.

"I suspect the demons," Boric replied.

"Nonsense," Lucivar countered. "If it was a demon, then it was not any of my demons. You have nothing to fear from us." He paused, his gold eyes narrowing dangerously. "I was the one that abolished the fairy slavery centuries ago, remember? Or have you forgotten in the ridiculous revels your people indulge in?"

Boric stood up, angry blazing in his blue eyes.

"That's enough, Lucivar," he said quickly, quelling the coming storm. He turned to Boric, facing the Fairy King. "Boric, it could not have been anyone associated with Lucivar. Now can we please agree to the terms of this alliance? All I am asking is that the spirit realm be united against Vypra and Jareth." He motioned to Zinka. "Zinka, would you read the terms of the alliance?"

The small spirit nodded. His was the son of the Magna Defender and a powerful leader, although forever trapped in the child form he had died in. Scorpius had destroyed the boy to have revenge on his father and that revenge had consumed his father for a long time, until, recently, he had been reunited with his son.

He read the terms quickly and clearly. They supported one another in defensive and offensive actions. They did nothing to interfere with the work of the five, unless all parties agreed to it. The essence was that they shared information and resources. Boric did not look happy. Lucivar looked bored.

"Fine!" Boric sighed. "I'll sign it."

"And I," Lucivar seconded.

Zordon let out a sigh of relief as the initial alliance was signed and sealed. He only hoped that it would last through these dark times. 

_To Be Continued..._

* * *

**Author's Note:** The 'fortune cookie sayings', if you will, that Trini tells each member of the group come from _Love Pearls: Messages From a Mother to Her Daughter_ by Nancy Swan Drew. This is an excellent little book that I would highly recommend to everyone-- the stuff in there tends towards 'wisdom for all.' I also will endeavor to state where snippets of songs and whatnot come from at the end of a chapter. If I don't give someone or something credit for an occurrence, then it is probably safe to assume it originated with me. 

I would also like to thank anyone for their comments, critiques and support so far! It's been really awesome to read the reviews and see what people think of this story. I also want to know if anyone finds anything unclear or something else of that ilk. With that said, I have to forego the reviewer responses for this chapter-- I have reading for Theories of Personality, Shakespeare and Form and Theory of Poetry that I have to get done. Once more, thanks for taking the time to review and I hope everyone keeps on reading! --EK


	6. Initial Plans

**Disclaimer: **I do not own _Power Rangers_. If I did, do you honestly think I'd be here? No. I'd be in California's beautiful San Fernando Valley drinking something out of those huge coconuts...

**RESTLESS WARRIORS**

By Etcetera Kit

**Chapter Six: Initial Plans**

Maya suppressed a sigh and looked around the faces sitting with her in Ninja Ops. The other teachers had gone home with the exception of Dustin and Cam and his father. The latter two lived at the school, so it was no surprise they were around and about. Before leaving earlier that evening, Hunter Bradley had promised them the support and manpower of the Thunder Ninja Academy if they needed or wanted it. She had thanked him. It was helpful to know that they had a veritable army of powerful ninjas willing to help them.

The others sitting around the table obviously did not share that positive sentiment. With the arrival of Taylor, all the confidence and comfortable familiarity Dustin had gained with herself, Kelsey and Kira had gone out the window. Maya had felt good about the group and the dynamic until Taylor showed up. It would take some serious effort of the mind and heart to get used to her and not rise to any of her bait. Maya was not worried about being on the receiving end of Taylor's tongue—she was more worried about the others being in that position. Kira would lash back out at her. Kelsey's self-confidence would slowly chip away under repeated attacks. Dustin would crack after one or two encounters like that.

But it would work. It had to work. The five of them were chosen for this task and they had to find a way to get along. It would be okay.

Kelsey broke the silence that reigned over the room. "I think we should set up camp or whatever in Mariner Bay. The ruins to the old temple are there, plus there're probably underground tunnels that we hadn't explored."

"It's a starting point," Kira agreed. Maya smiled at the pair of them. Kelsey and Kira sat along one side of the low table and were already becoming fast friends._ There's no word yet for old friends who just met._ It was true. Friendship was not something to be forced. It happened spontaneously and sometimes surprised individuals with its choices. Maya had always believed that one had no control over who became one's friends. Fate had a funny of way putting just the right people into one's life.

"Set up camp?" Taylor asked skeptically.

"Yes," Kelsey replied sounding slightly defensive. "There's a park with campgrounds not too far from the site. Within walking distance in fact. It'd be more convenient than cramming everyone in my apartment and commuting every morning."

"I think it's a good idea," Kira added. "Besides, if those demons start something, we'll be right there to deal with it."

Maya smiled. "Then it's settled. We can leave for Mariner Bay in the morning."

"Not so fast," Taylor interrupted the momentarily good mood. "We all need to tie up loose ends for work and school," she added the latter with a pointed glance to Kira and Dustin. Kira rolled her eyes and Dustin looked guilty.

"How about this," Kira said quickly and impatiently. Maya imagined some of the impatience was coming from her irritation with Taylor. "We stay here tonight and everyone can go their separate ways in the morning, pack, get camping gear together, give the boss an excuse and meet at Kelsey's apartment in Mariner Bay by noon."

"Good idea," Kelsey commented. "We need to see what everyone has in the way of camping gear, in case we need to get something."

"I've got some sleeping bags," Kira offered.

"That's about all I've got," Dustin added in a soft and slightly hoarse voice. Maya looked at him. It was the first time he had spoken since they left the bluff. She glanced at him. His soft brown eyes were distant and confused. He was still trying to work out what Trini had told him—that much was obvious. There were probably things in his life that he had never done or thought about just because they hadn't seemed important.

Maya shrugged, just to indicate that all she had was in her knapsack. Taylor shook her head. "All my stuff like that is back in Turtle Cove."

Kelsey grinned. "Well, you guys are lucky. I've got a ton of camping gear—portable grill, dishes, a six-man tent and a two-man tent, sleeping bags, pads that go under the sleeping bags… all we'd need to do is get food and supplies."

"Not bad," Kira said with an appraising look.

"Am I interrupting?"

Five heads turned to the staircase that led into Ninja Ops. Kanoi Wantanabe was descending the staircase. Dustin snapped to attention from when he had previously looked rather dazed.

"Oh no, Sensei," Dustin said quickly. "We were just talking about camping gear."

"Camping gear?" Kanoi looked amused. "I suppose I should not question such things." He paused with a fond smile for them. Maya liked this man. He had an inner light that shone to all who talked to him. He was wise and serene and seemed like the type who would stop anything to listen to one of his students.

"What's up?" Kira asked him as he entered the room.

"I know that Hunter has offered you the continued support of the Thunder Ninja Academy. Just know that Wind Ninja Academy will do the same. If you need anything at all, then let us know."

"What sort of stuff?" Taylor asked. Maya caught Kira roll her eyes in her peripheral vision and stifled a laugh. Taylor was treating this more like a military operation than a venture into the supernatural.

Kanoi gave her a calm and steady stare. It would have unnerved a lesser person. "Manpower, protection from these demons, food, shelter… all that we have is at your disposal."

That seemed to silence Taylor. Maya grinned and stood up. "We will not forget your kindness," she told Kanoi, before embracing him.

"You five are strong," Kanoi said. "Stronger than any of you know. Working as one, you will defeat this new evil. I know you will."

"How?" Dustin asked. He sounded desperate. "How do you know this?"

Kanoi smiled and walked over to his former student. "Dustin, you are a child of the earth, true to your heart. You, of all people, should know that teamwork prevails above all." He placed his hand on Dustin's head and closed his eyes for a moment, before heading back towards the stairs. He turned to them. "Trust your hearts," he said, before disappearing the way he had come from.

Maya looked to the others and, for the first time, realized how exhausted they must be. They, unlike her, had not had the luxury of a nap that morning. "I think we should turn in," she said softly. "We all need the sleep."

Everyone agreed and Dustin disappeared to find Cam. This quest was certainly going to be interesting if nothing else.

* * *

Kira sighed and rolled over, trying to find a comfortable place to sleep. It was fruitless. Sleep was just not coming. Cam had brought pallets and blankets down to Ninja Ops so they could crash on the floor. Some of them obviously found that easier to do than others. She glanced in the dim light of emergency lights on electrical things to Dustin who was on the other side of the room from them. It was a gamble whether he had done that on purpose or subconsciously. He obviously felt the strain of being surrounded by women. Kira was surprised he wasn't basking in the undivided female attention, but realized he was overwhelmed right now. In a day or two, he would be back to being the laughing, chattering class clown. Poor guy. He was lying on his back, sprawled over his pallet and his blankets tangled around him. His mouth was open and he was snoring softly. Some people thought snoring was annoying, but what Dustin was doing was more cute than annoying. Not that she would ever call him 'cute' to his face. It might impugn on his masculinity.

She turned to her other side. Kelsey was asleep, curled into a ball underneath her blankets. Taylor was asleep as well, although it didn't surprise Kira. She was in the military and had probably had to sleep in places less friendly than this. Maya was nowhere to be found—probably out on the roof talking to the birds or something.

This group had to be the oddest ever assembled. She wanted to know what those ancient ninjas had been thinking—the five of them could work together? Well, four out of the five of them got along all right. Dustin was easygoing and easy to get along with. The only thing about him was that his dingbat disposition tended to get annoying after long periods of time. Kelsey was also easy to get along with, but where Dustin tended to lack maturity and intelligence, she didn't. She seemed laidback, but also hardworking. And from the way she talked about her friends in Mariner Bay, she was extremely loyal and had a big heart. Maya was the distant one, kind of mysterious and frightening, but, at the same time, friendly and down to earth, generous to a fault. She was obviously much more in tune with nature than they were.

And then there was Taylor. She was stubborn, more so than the rest of them, had an acid tongue and did not suffer fools. That didn't bode well for Dustin, who tended to think without speaking and sometimes sounded much stupider than he was, or for Maya, an aimless dreamer. Well, her parents always taught her to see good aspects of people too. It made working with them easier. So what was good about Taylor? She was a born leader, organized and thought things through. Those were things the others needed. She would provide direction and keep them focused. However, at the same time, she was a complete shrew, prude, bitch… Kira did not have enough nasty names to describe her.

But, on the bright side, at least she wasn't Trent. That would have been even more awkward. In a way, she was glad she didn't know any of these people really well. It made being forced into close quarters a little less awkward. Nobody had any dirt on anyone else. It wasn't going to turn into 'are you going to wash the dishes?' with the reply being 'well, you had crabs in the sixth grade.'

Dustin suddenly jerked awake, sitting up and looking around disoriented. Kira pushed herself into a sitting position and crept over to the table. "Can't sleep?" she whispered to him as he settled down and realized where he was.

He let out a long breath, ran a hand through his now wildly curling hair, rubbed his eyes and crawled out of his tangle of blankets to the table. "Can't stay asleep," he whispered back and then tried to clear his throat quietly. "I can't stop thinking about what Trini told me," he confessed.

Kira nodded. _Live noble dreams now and always._ Hers was certainly cryptic enough. His had something to do with finding love. "I know what you mean. I don't get mine."

"Me either," he replied, shaking his head. "It just bothers me that she kept saying 'blue' and 'sapphire' and that stuff."

"What do you think it means?"

"I think it has to do with Tori." He paused. "Either that or I'm in love with Blake and don't realize it yet."

"I think it's safe to say that you're not in love with Blake."

"I hope so, man." He nodded to her. "But what about yours? Any ideas?"

"I'm not sure. Everything I think of keeps spiraling back to that scholarship to NYU that I didn't take."

"You had a scholarship to NYU?" Dustin looked both impressed and jealous. "I'd never have gotten a scholarship to a place like that!"

"Yeah," Kira said. "_Had_ being the key word. Trent wanted me to stay in Reefside so that we'd be close, instead of going to NYU. I stupidly listened to him and here I am—at community college, playing music in a cybercafé and boyfriend-less."

"Trent's your ex?" She nodded. Dustin shook his head. "I never really liked him when we met you guys. I mean he just wasn't the kind of person I'd hang out with."

"He had a lot of problems," Kira agreed. "Overprotective parent, the white gem turning him evil at first, hiding his dad and his knowledge of Mesogog's fortress from us… he never had it easy. Transferring art schools and leaving the state was his way of getting a clean slate." She paused. "Unfortunately, it meant getting rid of me too."

"That sucks."

Kira had never heard anyone put it so succinctly before. "What about you?" she asked, feeling the need to get the spotlight off of her. "You have a girlfriend?"

"Used to," Dustin replied. "You remember Marah?"

How could she forget Marah? She was the insane brunette who ran around with her sister, annoying Cam and ultimately saving the day. It was impossible to forget Marah or Kapri once one met them. "Yeah," she said. "How could I forget Marah?"

"We were going out for a while," he said softly. "Then she and Kapri were sorted into their elements. I was there when they went to the bluff as one of the deciding factors. Two minutes in I knew she was going to be air. She wanted to fly, rise above her old life."

"How was that going to break you two up?"

Dustin rolled his eyes. "We didn't see as much of each other. Marah is the type that has to have her boyfriend around twenty-four seven just to make sure he still cares about her." He shrugged. "She's insecure. Once I knew she wasn't going to be earth, I knew it was over. She broke it off though."

"Sounds like she wasn't that great a catch anyways."

"Hey," Dustin protested. "I don't often have girls around who want to date me. Most of them just go, 'Oh Dustin, I like you as a friend.' I have to take my chances when I can." His girl imitation was classic. Kira snickered.

"You sure sound like a girl. Sure you're not in love with Blake?"

Dustin glowered at her. "I'm not gay. And if I was gay, Blake would so not be my type." Kira laughed. He gave her an appraising look. "So the Trent-man is gone… anyone else special in your life?"

She snorted. "Hardly. Unless you call Conner and Ethan becoming overprotective watchdogs someone special."

"Some_ones_," Dustin corrected.

"I don't think that's a word."

"Could you two please shut-up!"

They both turned. Dustin made a face. "I think that was Miss Sunshine," he hissed sarcastically. "Night, Kira," he whispered before crawling back to his pallet that was away from all the girls.

"Night," she hissed back before going to her own pile of bedding and crawling in. She lay on her back and stared at the ceiling, sleep still not coming.

What Trini had told her made sense all of a sudden. She had let her dreams fall and die until she was living a life she had imagined only in nightmares. She had wanted to be a singer and NYU was that perfect opportunity to break into the music business. There were studios and singers and agents all over the place and they watched the major music schools. She should have ignored Trent when he asked her to stay, should have realized that he was being selfish and should have listened to her parents and Doctor O when they told her she was making a huge mistake staying in Reefside.

Well, there was something to be done about that. Trent was gone and, with him, everything she had given up came back. Conner, Ethan, Hayley, Doctor O… all of them wanted her to go to New York. As soon as this was over, she was calling that school and asking them about that scholarship. Did they still want her there? If not, there were other music schools, other options. She could do this. No, she was going to do this and nothing was going to stop her this time.

She was the unicorn—a creature that was pure and unspoiled by the world. Unicorns seemed to represent the very mystery and beauty of fantasy and dreams. She would become that unicorn and take on the world. Her music expressed who she was and nothing could take that away. This made sense.

Snuggling into her blankets, she smiled to herself. Even Miss Grumpy Bear was not going to spoil her good mood. She couldn't wait to tell Conner and Ethan about this, but especially Conner because she knew he would be genuinely happy for her. That was odd. When had she started thinking about Conner above others? She didn't know and really didn't want to dwell on it.

As her mind gently drifted towards sleep, she realized that she had seen the normal Dustin when they were talking. It was good to know he was going to be ultimately okay.

* * *

Lucivar stared out the cathedral-style windows in the Dark Council's meeting room. He had built those several centuries ago when they were popular with the humans. To him, they seemed dark and gothic, mysterious and powerful. They complimented the Dark Council and what it stood for beautifully. The land outside was shrouded in eternal twilight—the sky streaked with dark shades of indigo and violet. It was how they designed the land eons ago. It was what the demons and dark spirits had wanted. That eternal twilight let the others know what realm this was and who they were about the meet—beings of the darkest nature.

He had grown soft over the centuries. Five hundred years ago, he would have killed humans, decimated demons and vaporized spirits for nothing more that sport. Now, after everything that had happened, he was content to fade into that twilight, governing only the ones who wanted his leadership. He recalled the fairy enslavement. Whoever had thought he would have no problem with that was a fool. He loved destruction, death, chaos… but not enslavement. He had fought to be free and would fight for others to be free, no matter how different from himself they were.

Falcon stood at the door. He sighed, knowing that he required an answer. "My Lord," Falcon said tentatively as a question.

He glanced to his steward. The demon was tall, muscular and blonde. He had pale blue eyes that glittered sharply like ice. Unlike spirits, demons had never known a mortal life. They could walk in the mortal realm for a time, until banished by humans or summoned back by their lord. However, if Falcon had ever been mortal, Lucivar would have placed his origins from Sweden or Norway.

"Bring them in," he ordered.

The Magna Defender was here in Zordon's stead, along with him came Iris, Boric's sister and second-in-command to the fairies. He had nothing to fear from the Magna Defender. He was honest and chivalrous, much like the knights of old. He was fair and reasonable at all times. Iris tended to be slightly more hyper than Boric and it was hard to strike a bargain with her, no matter how much the bargain favored the fairies. It was also strange dealing with her since she had Boric were twins—identical. It was weird looking at Boric, suddenly female.

The doors opened and the pair was escorted in by Falcon and Christian. The latter was the opposite of Falcon in regards to hair and eyes. He had dark hair and eyes. The Magna Defender gave a short bow to show respect and honor for Lucivar's superior power. He was also in no-nonsense mode. Iris fluttered nervously near the door.

"Prince Lucivar," the Magna Defender started. "In our alliance, we had agreed to share information at all times. We are here to inform you that the fairies are sending a scout within the week to help the five."

"Why not send a message?" he asked, studying the dark horizon.

"Zordon felt it best to deliver these things in person. We do not know how many followers Vypra and Jareth have."

Lucivar sighed. "If you come across any more renegades, I will personally see to it that they no longer support those two fools."

The Magna Defender nodded, while Iris let out a squeak. Everyone knew what would happen if Lucivar got a hold of a renegade.

"Who is the scout?"

"Arval Parrot," the Magna Defender answered promptly. "In a human disguise."

The fairies were good at disguising themselves as humans, Lucivar would give them that much. He suppressed a smile, trying to imagine Arval in human form. He was also good at picking up trails no one else would see. Combined with the eternal sunshine optimism that the five were supposed to have, he would be a great boon to them.

"Very good," he replied. "You have my approval if that is what you are seeking."

The Magna Defender bowed again to signal his impending exit. Lucivar nodded at him as he left, practically dragging Iris with him.

He wanted this nightmare to be over.

_ To Be Continued..._

* * *

**Author's Note:** The phrase, _there's no word yet for old friends who just met_, has been used before in this piece, but to give it formal credit now, it comes from the song _I'm Going To Go Back There Someday_ from _the Muppet Movie_. I'd also like the know which couples that people view as the classic couples from each incarnation and how we can violate those pairings? I'm not particular about whether its m/m, f/f or m/f. I'm just curious to see people's views on this. If you feel the need to write an essay on it, please e-mail me! Also, be forewarned, for this story, things are not as they appear. With that-- reviewer responses! Yah!

**fenestrae**- Taylor and Dustin will certainly have some issues learning to get along... it's a funny dynamic! Thanks for reading and reviewing!

**Funky In Fishnet**- What is this Wild Force boxed set? I need information on how to get one! lol I'm glad you're liking the story-- and thanks for all your kind words! As to what appears to be a Tori/Dustin pairing, only time will tell. I find that with incarnations like Ninja Storm and Dino Thunder, it's hard deciding who the lone female should really end up with. I know there're classic pairings... but only time will tell. :)

**Hagar**- Something drastic, huh? Nah, I won't do anything drastic. I think it's interesting that you gave each of them a 'color' so to speak. I had not thought of that when writing that scene, but it makes sense. Now we just have to see if Taylor can play nicely with others for her role to work out. Thanks for your awesome comments!

**Weesta**- Thanks for your cool comments! I get the feeling that you're reading each chapter thoroughly and I appreciate that you're taking the time to do that. :) Thanks for your kind words! (And Dustin's not so much afraid of fire, as he is not too crazy about it.)


	7. Deep Within Us

**Disclaimer:** Don't own 'em. Sometimes I wish I did. I don't own_ Starbucks_ either. I wish I owned them everyday.

**RESTLESS WARRIORS**

By Etcetera Kit

**Chapter Seven: Deep Within Us**

Taylor slowly opened her eyes and tried to focus on her surroundings. She knew exactly where she was and why she was there. It was an instinct that the military had ground into her from her first day of boot camp to her last combat assignment. One had to be alert, even when sleeping. Therefore, the two little teenagers late night gossiping had woken her up and she had not been happy about it. Teenagers… hell, she wasn't even sure if Kira and Dustin still were teenagers, although they weren't more than a year or two past it.

Ninja Ops was still dark. She glanced at her watch and the glow-in-the-dark hands pointed to 6:30. That was normally when she got up to go running. She had to be at the base by eight to attend to paperwork and drill instructor training. Yes, she was training to be a drill instructor and it probably would not surprise any of the halfwits around here.

She crept out of her blankets in the semi-darkness, put on her t-shirt from last night and some running pants, folded up her blankets and was out of that room before anyone began to stir. That was another talent the military drove into her—how to be quiet when dressing and getting out of bed so that you did not wake up everyone around you.

Once outside of the school building, she looked around the grounds. There was lots of room here to run, so it wasn't necessary to find that portal again and head back into the woods. It made her wonder what the huge secret was about these ninja academies—secrets that forced them to cloak their schools and hide who they were from the world. She also wondered how people like Dustin got into these schools and others, like many of the newbies she drilled in the Air Force, didn't. She could think of much more qualified and disciplined people who would welcome the life that these ninjas led. How did they choose the people to come here?

Well, she would not have been chosen to come here, that was for sure. In fact, she didn't even think she matched up with their elemental method of sorting people. From what she had heard in limited conversations with Cam and Dustin, the element she matched up the most with was air, just because she had always wanted to fly. But that was the only thing. She didn't dream or want the breeze on her face. She just wanted to fly. It had been a childhood dream to get away from a chaotic family. Being amongst the clouds had always been the solution. She had never liked her crazy family that was stuck in a rut with their ways. There was a reason that she hadn't talked to them in years.

She fell into an easy stride near a practice field. It was empty this early in the morning, although it had been strategically placed to have the morning sun and the shadow of the mountain in the afternoon. Mist rose of the grass and lazy streams of fog encircled the mountain. It was a great location to have any sort of school. She passed a place littered with stone benches and a winding path. That had to be the gardens. She took a detour and entered the place, stepping onto the path. It was another whole world in here. Outside, the school reeked of discipline and honor. Here, there was a peaceful, meditative vibe that made one feel relaxed and calm. What was going on?

"You're up early."

Taylor swung around to find Cam entering the garden behind her. At least, she was pretty sure that this one was Cam. She had been introduced to all of the teachers and most of them had been rangers, but she still had some trouble keeping them apart. Yes, he was Cam—the Asian one whose father ran this place who actually had a brain. He was wearing loose black pants and shirt—the shirt trimmed in green—along with black flip-flops.

"Yeah," she replied. "Habit."

Cam nodded. "Join the club." He paused and gave her a scrutinizing look. "Do you always look so pensive when you go running?"

"No," she retorted. "I just have a lot on my mind."

"I'm sure you do." He folded his hands behind his back and strolled leisurely over to a group of lavender flowers near the entrance. "Lavender by the gate of a garden," he said softly. "For luck," he added looking up to her.

Great, she was surrounded by superstitious ninjas that believed flowers and herbs protected them from anything. "You actually believe that garbage," she muttered.

Cam looked nonplussed, probably from years of putting up with Dustin. "Do not underestimate the power and protection of ancient rituals and spirits," he intoned.

Taylor gave him a level stare. "I don't believe that flowers give luck."

He shrugged. "No one said that flowers give luck."

"You just did."

"Ninjas believe in honor and tradition," he replied simply. "We honor the old ways simply because they have existed for thousands of years. Time is a powerful thing."

All right, so he had a point. Her mind went back to what Trini had told her last night. She had to reach out to others while striking the balance between that connection and the desire to be free. She was also the sphinx. She recognized a picture of the thing, but had no idea what a sphinx did in mythology or why it was so important. How did it connect to her? Might as well ask Cam since he seemed determine to bother her.

"What's a sphinx?"

He raised an eyebrow. "A sphinx is a mythical creature. It generally looks like-"

"I know what it looks like," she interrupted. "What does it do?"

"It tells riddles," he explained. "People who come across a sphinx have to answer the riddle correctly or perish where they stand. Sphinxes usually have the face of a beautiful woman, but can become fierce killers in the blink of an eye."

That told her more than she did know, but it didn't explain how that creature related to her. It was hopeless trying to talk to Cam. He didn't know what had happened at that fire and there was no way he could tell her anything about what it meant. He didn't know her. None of these people did. A sudden sense of loneliness settled over her. She would have given anything to have someone around who knew her halfway decently. Alyssa, Cole, Danny… hell, even Max or Merrick would be better than no one. She'd even take Eric if that was her only option.

Eric… God, she wished she knew what their relationship was. Off and on bedmates seemed to be the answer. They had dinner once in a while, tended to have sex a little more often, talked about work and that was it. They weren't dating, but they couldn't claim to be nothing more than friends. Why was she thinking about this? He drove her nuts! Eric was the one person that could make her angry enough to hit him. Then again, he was also the only person whose kisses made her feel like agreeing to anything. Goddamn him and this whole yellow ranger mission and those damn ancient ninjas who wrote that damn scroll… damn, damn, damn…

Cam was giving her a strange look. Taylor inwardly seethed that he had been watching her internal war. "Do you bring new students here to sort them?" she asked, as a random question to get the focus off of her.

"No," he replied. "There is no major source of water here."

"I was thinking," she started. "I don't really fit into any of the categories here. I guess that's why I never found this place and became a student." Great. Now she was babbling incoherently to Cam, who would probably tell Dustin she was crazy and he would pass it on to the others and the leadership thing Trini had told her about would be out the window before anyone could say 'frying pan.' Frying pan? Huh? Now she was going crazy.

"You don't," Cam agreed. "But that's because you're a samurai."

With that, he walked out of the garden and Taylor was left staring after him, wondering just what he meant by that.

* * *

Kelsey tried to stifle a yawn as she sat down at the breakfast table. Cam had come down there at some point, woken everyone up and claimed that breakfast was ready upstairs. She was wearing her clothing from the day before, not having planned on staying the night. Kira was in the same boat. Taylor had fresh clothes just because she already had to pack to get here in the first place. Dustin was nowhere to be seen. Neither was Maya for that matter.

Well, Dustin was probably still asleep and Maya had probably already eaten and was outside doing God only knows what. This was going to be interesting if nothing else. She smiled at Kira who nodded back. Taylor seemed to be ignoring the world, so she just sat down at the table and began to serve herself.

Last night had been one of the oddest experiences she had yet. Trini's words to her came floating back clearly. _Guilt and shame do not belong in your wardrobe of feelings… wear pride, self-respect and love. Pitch 'should've', 'could've', 'would've' and 'what if only'._ It made her wonder what she felt guilty about, what she regretted so much that Trini needed to tell her of it. Her animal spirit made even less sense. She didn't really see how she connected with the Pegasus at all. Perhaps it was one of those things that would be made clear in time.

And what did she need to do when she got back to Mariner Bay? Get all her camping gear together and call the park to get them a camp site. And just who in the world was going to pay for all this? She wasn't exactly rolling in extra money and would have even less saved up when she told her boss she had to use all the vacation time she had. Maya definitely did not have a lot of money. Kira and Dustin were both starving college students. And she didn't imagine Taylor was rolling in money, even after a life in the military.

Cam walked into the room, closely followed by his father. Kelsey stared at him. Had he changed clothes since he came to wake them? She hadn't been that long in getting out of bed. He was just wearing street clothes now, although jeans and a green t-shirt seemed a little odd on him. Kanoi smiled and bowed to all of them.

"Where is Dustin?" Kanoi asked.

"Probably still asleep," Taylor muttered as she stabbed at her scrambled eggs savagely.

"She probably right," Cam said oblivious to the edge in Taylor's voice. "I'll go find him," he volunteered and disappeared out of the dining room.

"Breakfast?" Kira asked the remaining ninja.

"Thank you, no," Kanoi replied. "I have already dined." He paused. "I had told you that the Wind Ninja Academy would offer any resources it had to in order to help with your mission. We intend to honor that promise."

The three women turned to him in interest. Kelsey wondered what he was getting at—it would be ironic if he offered them the money they needed to finance this trip.

"In that light, the academy will fund food and supplies you will need while away." He paused. "There is a school credit card that all the teachers can use. I will have Cam give Dustin a copy and any charges will be billed directly to the academy." He paused, his eyes twinkling. "And I shall know if you put extraneous charges on it."

Kelsey smiled. Kira nodded in approval. Taylor didn't reply—her features just clouded. Kelsey imagined that she didn't feel Dustin was responsible enough to hold something like that and keep it safe. Of course, all of them were having some trouble dealing with this—it was kind of sudden. However, if there was one thing she had learned from being a ranger, it was that life had a funny way of handing you just what you needed at that moment in time. Being a ranger had been about so much more that herself… it was time that all of them relearned that lesson.

Dustin appeared in the room, dragging himself to the table. He was wearing a simple kimono, similar to what Cam had on yesterday, only it was trimmed in yellow rather than green. He also looked like the living dead. She and Kira exchanged a glance. Was this how he normally acted in the morning? She'd be willing to put bets on it.

"Good morning, Dustin," Kanoi greeted him and quickly relayed what he had told them. Dustin nodded, bleary eyed.

"What's wrong?" she whispered to him as he sat down next to her.

"I just talked to Kelly, man," he replied, his voice hoarse. "She's not happy that I have to take off for an undetermined length of time." He paused at her blank look. "She's my boss at Storm Chargers, the place where I work. I might not have a job there when this is over."

"But you'll still have a job here?"

"Yeah, but it's not enough. I was saving up money to go to college, but if I lose my job at Storm Chargers then I'm screwed." He stopped suddenly and just stared at the plates of food like they were something foreign.

Kelsey just laid a reassuring hand on his arm. All of them would be in that boat before the day was up.

* * *

Dustin slowly folded a pair of pajama pants and stuffed them into his duffel bag. This packing thing was taking more deliberation than he had originally thought. He wasn't sure what he would need or even how long they would be there. He was already uneasy since the camping trip tables had turned on him. When he would go camping with the others during their ranger days or even just with Shane and Tori, he was not the one in his own tent. That had always been Tori and she didn't seem to mind the isolation. He wasn't sure he liked the idea of being in the woods in a tent by himself with all those spooky noises.

He was just glad that Sensei had been so understanding about his taking off like this. He supposed that it had to do with the fact that he was a ninja and the ninjas wrote that scroll of destiny. He at least had a job there when he got back. Storm Chargers was another story. Kelly really couldn't afford to let him take off for who knows how long. She needed the help. Now that he thought about it, he realized what must have bugged her most was how vague he had been and how he had no answers. She had not exactly fired him, but she had not exactly told him his job would still be available when he got back. He supposed that was better than nothing, but it didn't help his financial situation any.

He had moved out of his parents' house, since they refused to support him if he wasn't going to college. He just wasn't ready for college yet. So he had gotten a rather dingy apartment in a part of Blue Bay Harbor that was approaching 'other side of the railroad tracks.' He worked at Storm Chargers, the academy and raced on the weekends, hoping to supplement his income with winnings. It was not a good situation. But still, he had a small nest egg in a savings account, paid his rent and utilities on time and had corrected his punctuality problem so he showed up to work on time and reduced his risk of being fired. He had improved, but not enough to take a set back like this.

Looking around his bedroom and shuffling through the contents of his duffel bag, he tried to think of anything else he would need. Depending on how long this took, more deodorant, but he wasn't going to worry about that until he needed to. His eyes flicked to the top drawer of his dresser. That was where he kept his morpher. Hayley had examined their morphers and told them that Lothor's energy drain left enough power for one last battle. In other words, the morphers were dead. He went to the drawer anyways and lifted his morpher out. It was stupid and hopeless, but he liked to believe that just maybe it still had power. He stuffed it into the bottom of his duffel bag, for luck if nothing else.

He went out into the small kitchen-dining room of the apartment. On the table was the envelope with the month's rent money and utility checks. His landlord was a retired lady in her sixties who took the rent on the first Monday of the month. He also had checks for the utilities. Everything else was directly taken from his checking account. If he had no extra expenses this month (like car repairs) then he had enough in his checking account to cover it. Beyond this month, he was screwed.

Picking up his duffel bag and a bundle of sleeping bags, he turned out all the lights in the apartment, pocketed the envelope and locked up the place. He headed to the parking lot and began to load the stuff in his car before he went to find Mrs. Devine and give her the money. He was just lucky she liked him.

"Dustin!"

He turned from where he had been dumping sleeping bags into the back seat of his car to see Tori jumping out of her van and running towards him. A smile broke over his face as he recalled his conversation with Kira last night.

"Hey, Tori!" he replied.

"So you guys are going camping?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest and trying to hide her smile.

"Yeah," he said, running a hand through his hair. "It seemed like the best idea."

"How do you feel about all this?"

It was such a simple question—one he did not have an answer for. He didn't know how he felt about this, since almost all of the decisions had been out of his hands. And then there was that scroll of destiny. Ever since he had been the scroll of destiny that proclaimed he and Shane and Tori would be Power Rangers, he had learned not to doubt the ancient ninjas.

He believed in destiny, but he did not believe one had to follow that path. This path seemed different however. It was like someone begging him to stop the world from coming to utter destruction. The fate of the Earth had been put into his hands once more and he had no idea what they were going to do. Did any of them have the faintest idea on where to start looking for this or how to stop it? They needed to know just what these demons were planning to do. He knew they wanted to destroy the gates between the realms, but how were they going to accomplish that?

"I don't know," he finally told Tori. "I don't have much choice though."

"There's always a choice," she said softly.

Dustin sighed. He was not crazy about this mission—believe it or not, he actually had things that might have taken precedence over it. But, he felt strongly that he was needed for this, no matter how strange his role might be. He settled his gaze on Tori. For the first time, he fully appreciated how attractive she was. She wasn't pretty in the conventional sense, but once one got to know her, one began to appreciate the way she looked. Her blonde hair always looked so soft and silky and her blue eyes always sparkled with laughter and radiated outward her inner light. Light freckles dotted her nose… she was pretty. He had known her practically his entire life and had not paid much attention to her when girls became more than cooties and mud pie targets on the playground.

"Tori, how long have you known me?"

She gave him a questioning look. "Since third grade."

"Then trust me on this."

"But Dustin, your job, your life… you could lose everything!"

"I know. I've thought about all this and, if I can be back before the end of the month, then I might be all right."

"You _ might_ be all right? Waldo Dustin Brooks-"

"Victoria Elizabeth Hanson," he retorted, cutting her off. "I know that you and Shane don't like to think so, but I have grown up and I can take care of myself without you two telling me what I need to do!" He hated it when they assumed that he was nothing more that a goof and a doofus and an airhead and a flake… and he wasn't even sure what other words they used to describe him. Hadn't he tried in the last two and a half years since they had been rangers to put his life together and try to make something of himself?

"I'm sorry," Tori whispered, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. "I didn't mean that you haven't thought this through." She stepped closer to him, closing the distance between them. He could smell that body splash she used—he had been sprayed with it enough times. "Just be careful. And if you ever need a place to crash, you know where I live."

Her hands went up to his face, her fingers stroking his jaw. He felt confused. What was Tori doing? Not that he didn't enjoy it, but wasn't she dating Blake? Without warning, she pressed her lips to his. He was startled for a moment, but soon relaxed and took over the kiss. Her hands fell to his shoulders, as he wrapped one arm around her waist and cradled her face with his other hand. Heat and electricity ran through him. Granted, the number of girlfriends he had had could be counted on one hand, but there was something here he had never felt before. He probed her sealed lips with his tongue, causing her to open her mouth as he finally explored the mouth that he had dreamt of for so long. She tasted good. There were remnants of a Jolly Rancher and flavored water, but there was something else there that could only be defined as Tori. He wanted to surrender to the aching heat that enveloped him. She finally broke the kiss gently.

"Be careful," she repeated and backed away from him, going back to her van and leaving without another word.

Now he was more confused than ever, but tried to put it on the back burner as he threw his duffel bag into the car and went to find Mrs. Devine. Him and Tori? Would that relationship ever work out? He didn't know.

_ To Be Continued..._

* * *

**Author's Note:** Thanks for all the great reviews guys! I'm not going to do reviewer responses for this chapter-- much boring reading to get done for class in a relatively short amount of time. (I should really turn on the e-mail review things, huh? I could just reply in e-mail and it would make things so much easier, but I persist in doing things the hard way. Oh well.) But once more, thanks for all the awesome comments! --EK 


	8. Hidden Love

**Disclaimer:** Still don't own 'em. Although it'd be kind of cool to own 'em... not sure what I'd do with 'em...

**RESTLESS WARRIORS**

By Etcetera Kit

**Chapter Eight: Hidden Love**

Kira stood in the center of her apartment, trying to determine if she had forgotten anything or if there was something else she needed to do. She had gone over to Hayley's earlier that day and explained where she was going and why. Hayley, after hearing who was asking them to do this and the bare bones story, immediately gave her time off, assuring her that she would have her job back when the mission was over. Upon arriving back at her apartment, she had rounded up whatever camping gear she had—not much—and threw together a small duffel bag of things, after calling a classmate to get the notes for her while she was away.

There was not anything else she could think of to do or people she needed to call. Well, she really should have called Doctor O, Conner and Ethan… but Hayley would probably pass the message on to them, since Conner and Ethan always hung out at the café when they were in town. And Trent… well, she didn't really care if Trent knew or not. It wasn't like he kept in particularly good contact with them anyways. Dr. Mercer and Elsa were still around and she saw them sometimes, but… she strongly suspected that Trent's suddenly departure for another state had to do with the fact that his father and Elsa had gotten married. But he hadn't had to be so abrupt and rude about things.

She smiled to herself thinking about Conner and Ethan. Those two had become closer to her than she had ever thought possible. When becoming rangers, the three of them were about as different as possible and even throughout their time as rangers, they tended to stay with their own group of friends, spending time together only at the cybercafé. But now, when miles separated them and not just personal preferences, they called each other more often, made weekend trips to visit, wanted all the news from the others. She now viewed them as her lovable surrogate older brothers. Both of them were extremely protective of her and there were times that it drove her crazy, but in the end, they always came through when it really counted. It was now hard to imagine life without them.

The phone rang. Frowning, she went over to the phone in the kitchen and glanced at the caller ID. Groaning, she picked up the phone.

"What Conner?" she growled.

"Hey Kira!" he said cheerfully, ignoring her tone. "I need help with my math problems."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm heading out the door. Call Ethan."

"I tried, but he wasn't picking up. I think he's out with Angela, if you know what I mean."

She did know what Conner meant, that was the sad part. His voyeuristic mind surfaced almost all the time. Perhaps that was part of the reason he and Krista had not stayed together once they left for college. "Look, Conner, I want to help you, but I can't right now. I'm really in a hurry." She tried to emphasis 'in a hurry' so he'd get the point.

There was silence on the other line. "What's up?" he asked. Then, "Are you trying to get rid of me? I came to see you at the cybercafé!"

"You always come to see me at the café! And do not pull that whiney helpless little boy thing on me right now! I have to go and I am not in the mood for it."

"No, Kira, seriously, what's going on? Don't hang up!"

His voice sounded so hurt and pleading that she didn't hang up the phone like she was going to. Of course, all the times she hung up on him, he called back two minutes later and gave rambling apologies into the answering machine until she caved and picked up the phone. "I have to go out of town for a few days."

"You have a gig?"

"No. Look, me and some of the other yellow rangers have a mission things that we need to go on. Dustin showed us a scroll of destiny that mapped out what was going to happen."

"What's a scroll of destiny?"

"A scroll that the ninjas wrote thousands of years ago predicting stuff." She paused. "You do remember when we met the ninja rangers?"

"Of course! Wow," Conner stated. "Who all is going?"

She smiled, knowing that he at least remembered who all the previous rangers were. They had watched the archives a lot in high school for pure entertainment value. "Maya and Kelsey Winslow, Taylor Earhardt and Dustin Brooks."

"Watch out for Dustin," Conner said in a serious tone. "I don't want to see you have another nasty breakup."

If it had been anyone other than Conner, Kira would have been appalled. But since it was Conner and he normally said the first thing that came to mind, it was excusable. "Conner!" she said in a warning tone of voice.

"Hey, I've talked to the guy. He's something straight out of 'Dude, Where's My Car?'"

Kira rolled her eyes. "I'll be careful. If I need help, I'll come screaming for you." She didn't add that she thought Dustin acted exactly like Conner—the only difference was the sports that they preferred. "And besides, I don't think I'm the one that he's having impure thoughts about."

"You better," Conner replied fervently. "Besides, nothing can happen to you. You still owe me a slot-car race." There was a pause. "Who do you think he likes anyways?"

"Like I know. I'm not his psychologist." She silently cursed the day she let Conner and Ethan slot-car race on her computer. It had only led to ongoing slot-car race wars and contests that always ended up with 'the best two out of three' and escalating from there. "I will owe you a slot-car race everyday for the rest of my life if you and Ethan keep it up," she snapped.

"Aw, come on! We're not that bad," he protested.

"Yes you are." She paused. "But I really need to get going, Conner. I'm supposed to be in Mariner Bay at noon and I'm already late. Call Ethan later and get him to help you with the math homework."

"All right," he said softly. "Be careful."

"I will," she promised, knowing that on some strange level, Conner really did care about her. In fact, he would probably do anything she asked him to within reason.

"Bye, Kira."

"Bye, Conner."

She put the phone back in its cradle and picked up her duffel bag and purse. She thought briefly to the scholarship she had been offered to NYU where she could have majored in music. It would have been enough in and of itself to launch her career. But no… she had stayed in California and Reefside even and gone to community college because Trent had wanted her to. Trent had wanted her to be close to him… Goddammit! She kicked at the leg of the kitchen table and left her apartment, heading for her car.

Trini had better be right about this living noble dreams stuff.

* * *

Taylor sighed as she steered her rental car into the parking lot of the military base in Berkley. She could have just called Zumwalt and Baker on her cell phone and been done with the whole thing, but she didn't know what paperwork she needed to fill out or even if she would be able to stay in the military after this. Her one-year hiatus for no apparent reason had put a shadow over her remaining military career. Never mind the fact that she had been a Power Ranger for that year and saving the world from orgs and pollution. She had left active duty and stayed in the inactive reserves for that year, but no one had expected her to come back.

Taking a deep breath, she got out of the car and walked into the base. One of the privates was hanging around the lobby. She assumed he was the clerk assigned to help her, after she had called the base to let them know she would be coming. He saluted smartly.

"Captain Earhardt," he said. "Private Davis."

She saluted back and nodded at him. "Davis."

"If you'll follow me, I have all the paperwork waiting for you."

If this was resignation papers or discharge papers, she was going to be seriously pissed, since she hadn't talked to Baker or Zumwalt yet. She followed him down a hallway and into a conference room that probably saw a lot of the drill instructors comparing notes on the newest cadets. To her surprise, Ginger Baker was sitting at the conference table. Generally, she liked Baker—she was levelheaded and fair, something that most leaders with power were not. However, she was in business mode and that was not good.

Baker looked up at her and motioned for her to sit down, skipping the normal formalities. This was not a good sign either. "Earhardt," she started. "Davis here informs me that you have to take a leave of absence for an undetermined length of time."

Taylor nodded. "That's right." She didn't bother to wonder what Baker was doing here at all, since she could have come in on one of a dozen flights yesterday or piloted herself over here, since she did have a plane. She probably had other business and someone knew she was Taylor's superior officer and had informed her of her impending arrival.

"Earhardt," Baker said with a sigh, leaning forward on the table. "We let you join the inactive reserves for a year when you still had not completed your service time." She paused. "It's not entirely comforting to have an officer around who randomly disappears for undetermined lengths of time."

"Yes," Taylor replied, knowing where this was headed.

"I need reliable officers," Baker continued. "You have a responsibility to your county and your fellow soldiers, especially those that are directly under your command."

"I know."

Baker leaned back in her chair. "I know you've heard this before. I would like a solid reason for your leave of absence this time. I don't want to hear about you taking care of a grandmother who doesn't exist."

Taylor inwardly paused and tried not to wince. She should have known that Baker, if not Zumwalt would start asking these questions. "I don't have a solid reason." Baker opened her mouth to speak, but Taylor continued quickly. "It's not that I don't want to tell you. It's just that it's kind of personal and you probably would not believe me."

"Earhardt, if we don't have a good reason for this leave of absence, then we will be forced to end your service time early and it would come up as a dishonorable discharge." Baker paused and shook her head. "I don't want that to happen to someone like you, who actually knows what she's doing and who could do well around here."

She froze. There was no way she could tell Baker what she'd been up to—a secret ninja academy with a scroll of destiny along with her talking to a dead person and being put in charge of a slightly ridiculous mission with three bright bubbly women and one airhead of a man? Baker was a firm skeptic—like she had been this time two days ago. She would not believe that and she certainly would not believe she had been a Power Ranger for that year of absence. Baker would just not believe her if she told the truth.

"I can't," she replied, trying to make her voice firm and steady, but failing. Her voice came out as nothing more than a whisper and it shook.

Baker sighed and shook her head. "Then I have no choice but to discharge you." She pushed forward a stack of papers. "Sign here," she said, pointing to a line with her pen.

Taylor tried not to shake as she signed the papers, knowing she was sealing her fate. It would be difficult for her to get a job after this—people would look it up and realize why she left the military. What was she going to do for a job now? She wasn't even sure that she had the money to keep going for the rest of the month. Who was she going to be able to turn to now?

"Goodbye, Captain," Baker said softly, saluting.

Swallowing the lump that had formed in her throat, she saluted back and left the room as quickly as she could without running. God, why did she have to listen to Maya and get involved in this in the first place? Then she realized, before she had been a ranger, she would have ignored that letter completely. Hanging around with people like Cole and Princess Shayla and even Merrick had taught her to not always follow the smoothest course.

Out in the parking lot, she slumped against her rental car. This was great. She needed to find a computer with internet and check her bank account, she needed to call someone… but who? Suddenly, a name came floating to her like a godsend—Eric. She needed to call Eric. He would know what to do about this. He had been in the Marines. She might be in the Air Force, _was_ in the Air Force, but Eric would know what to do.

Fumbling around her purse, she pulled out her cell phone and turned it on. There were two new voice mail messages. Well, she might as well listen to those since she had no job and currently was going nowhere except the funny farm. The first message was from Cole, wanting to know what was going on and why she wanted to know about those other rangers. The second message sent her tumbling into a whirl of emotions.

_"Hey, Taylor—it's Eric. I know we haven't talked in a while, but the Silver Guardians need a new squad leader and I was wondering if you wanted the job. We interviewed a couple of dumb-asses… I know that you still have a service term to complete, but I'd be willing to hold the job until that was complete… I just want someone who knows what they're doing in that job… Just call me back when you get this. I'll talk to you soon."_

She didn't know whether to cry or start screaming. A strangled noise came out of the back of her throat and she hit the speed dial for Eric at work. Why she had his work number on her phone and in speed dial still escaped her. Could she work with him? Hell, she'd put up with anything at this point in time to know she had a job.

"Myers," came his familiar voice over the phone.

"It's Taylor," she said quickly. "Um… can I have the job right away?"

* * *

Kelsey gave Maya a sidelong look as she pulled into the parking lot of her apartment complex in Mariner Bay. She had been quiet the whole time they had been driving to Mariner Bay—just staring at the dashboard of the car. Kelsey wanted to know what was so interesting about it. Sure, the car was dirty and needed a bath and the last time Joel had seen the car he had written 'test dirt, do not wash' in the dirt on the side, but it wasn't that bad. It probably had nothing to do with the dirty car and more about what happened last night around that fire. She had to admit, it had her puzzled too.

For her, the Pegasus had always represented flight and reaching for the stars. She had never been one to want to fly. Almost all kids went through a phase where they wanted to fly. She had skipped that phase and gone straight to wanting a pony. Maybe that's where it came in—it was releasing part of her inner child. Well, flying horses always seemed like they were ready for a fight, ready for a challenge. She did like challenges and liked proving people wrong. That was part of the reason she ended up doing extreme sports—not skateboarding or surfing, but mountain-climbing and skiing and marathons and triathlons and things of that ilk. Of course, in the long run, it had her working at a rock gym with no other real job prospects, but she was content. It worked for her.

It also made her wonder what the others' animal spirits had been. For some reason, she was sure that Maya already knew. But still… it made her wonder if the others' animal spirits had made as little sense as hers had.

Oh well, she got out of the car and Maya followed her up to her apartment. The apartment was in a state of organized chaos. She also had several phone messages. Dropping her bag on the counter, she pressed the play button as she told Maya to make herself at home. The first one was from Ryan, asking her if she wanted to come bowling with him, Dana and Carter that weekend. The next three were from various people on Mirinoi—Kendrix, sounding frantic and wanting to know if Maya was all right, Kai, with the same sentiment as Kendrix and Leo and Mike, alternating between who got the phone and got to yell. That last message also sounded like someone else was in the background, adding things to say. This was something—it was not cheap to call interplanetary. Normally, people sent wires.

She turned to Maya. The Galaxy Ranger looked guilty, her cheeks pink. "Did you not contact them when you got here?" she asked.

Maya shook her head. "I didn't have enough money to," she said in a small voice.

Kelsey stared at her in disbelief. She had come to Earth with barely enough money to get her here and had spent it all. She thought for a moment. She had called her on a pay phone, probably costing more than necessary. She had also sent Taylor a same-day letter—which was not cheap by any stretch of the imagination. Where had she slept the first two nights she had been on Earth? She fought the urge to start a lecture.

"Why didn't you ask Kendrix or Mike or someone to loan you the money?" she asked instead. Maya looked even more uncomfortable.

"I had enough to get me here and to Blue Bay Harbor," she said defensively. "I hadn't planned on some of the other expenses. Besides, if I had told the others that I didn't think I had enough money, they would have fussed and delayed me getting her and insisted on coming!" she ended, almost wailing.

"Why didn't you want them to come?" Kelsey was confused. If she had been on another planet and Carter or Dana or one of the others volunteered to go with her to another planet, she would have been only too happy to have them accompany her.

Maya sank down onto the couch. "It's complicated. I knew that this had been assigned to the yellow rangers. I didn't want them to worry about me." She paused. "I've been through worse. I just didn't know enough about this to know if I wanted them involved."

Kelsey nodded. "All right. We've got some time before the others get here. We can go down to the NASADA building and you can call them." Messages from other planets had to be sent from a special location, but could be received on any normal phone. "I'll take care of it," she added.

"I can't let you do that."

"Maya! Listen to their messages again. They're worried about you—especially that Mike fellow." And it was true. Kelsey had never personally met Mike, but she had heard about him and knew who he was. The man had sounded frantic on the message and had obviously not wanted to give the phone to his younger brother, Leo.

Maya smiled ruefully. "He worries a lot."

"Is he… special to you?" Kelsey asked, searching for a delicate way to phrase the question. Maya's smile grew wider and goofier.

"In a way," she answered evasively.

"What kind of an answer is that?" she cried in response. This was the exact kind of conversation she would have had with Dana. The Pink Lightspeed Ranger had always had a way of answering questions that seemed evasive to her, but obvious to anyone else. Kelsey had always been amused at the obvious crush she had on Carter, while he remained oblivious to anything. Men… it had taken her a while to admit that she liked Ryan, but all he wanted was friendship. That would be a strange family, if she and Ryan were together and Dana and Carter were together. That would make her and Carter something like in-laws since Ryan and Dana were siblings.

"Mike has his own world and I have mine." Maya shrugged. "It can't really be reconciled." She paused. "People always said that Leo and I would have made a cute couple, but his heart belongs to Kendrix."

Kelsey shook her head, fighting a smile. "Look, let's get the camping gear loaded up and then we can buzz down to the NASADA building before the others get here."

She quickly packed her things and pulled her camping gear out of the hall closet. She really did have a lot of that kind of junk—hazard of wanting to go mountain-climbing on the weekends. Soon enough, the car was packed and they were heading towards a part of town that housed places like Lightspeed and NASADA.

"If you had one month to live, what would you do?"

Kelsey almost started at the question. What kind of a question was that? "I don't know," she replied. "Climb Mount Everest?"

Maya shook her head. "I mean really. What would you do?"

"I can't really say. I guess it would have to happen before I decided."

"I'd tell Mike how I really felt."

She fell silent after that. Kelsey didn't know what to make of the question or what Maya had said she would do. Did that mean she didn't like Mike or she did? Not that Kelsey could make a judgment call since she didn't know Mike. From what she could glean, he seemed a lot more responsible and organized than his younger brother.

Oh well, she still had to figure out what she felt guilty about.

_ To Be Continued..._

* * *

**Author's Note:** Ever had that feeling that you've been writing too much BS for class and you need to wash your brain out by writing something purely recreational? If you have, I empathize. At any rate, I've finally turned on the review e-mail alerts! So, this shall be the last reviewer responses I shall do for this story. I will respond to all of you via e-mail from now on. Yah! --EK (These are responses for people who reviewed chapter 7 and everyone gets a smiley!)

**Aria Fox**- I'm not sure how I feel about Tori/Dustin either. :) I will say that this story is far from over and that initial appearances may be deceiving. I'm more of a Cam/Tori fan myself, but Dustin is in this story... lol. I can't tell you if Eric will make an appearance in this story-- that would spoil things to come. I'm glad that you're enjoying the story and thanks for your kind words!

**Funky In Fishnet**- Astonishing, eh? :) I'm glad you liked (?) some of the most recent developments. As I have said before, this fic is far from over and things are not always as they seem.

**miz greenleaf**- If you catch anymore typo-s, drop me an e-mail and let me know whereabouts in the chapter it 'tis so I can fix it. That would be awesome. Thanks for your kind words-- I'm glad you like the story. The yellow rangers are my faves too-- and this is such an explosive dynamic that I couldn't resist writing it. :)

**Warstock-Leonhart**- Thanks! I'm glad that you're back to read yet another one of my literary endeavors. Thanks for your kind words-- and the plug for e-mail alerts. :)

**Weesta**- Kelsey isn't too key right now, but I promise, she'll get her development and come in full force in coming chapters! :) And as to Tori/Dustin... I've been getting that a lot. :) I'm glad you like the realistic spin on things. (It just wouldn't make any sense for working people to take off and not worry about their jobs!) But thanks for all your kind words!

**To EVERYONE**- I'm glad that people appreciate the tidbit about Taylor being a samurai. I've been on a ninja classification tear recently (due to a ficlet I wrote on the subject... more indirectly on the subject...) and how that classification works. To me, Taylor is much more of a samurai than Thunder or any of the other elements. (For the full dissertation on that, e-mail me!)


	9. Camp Yellow

**Disclaimer:** Still don't own 'em. Although it'd be kind of cool to own 'em... not sure what I'd do with 'em...

**RESTLESS WARRIORS**

By Etcetera Kit

**Chapter Nine: Camp Yellow**

Maya smiled as the operator gave her a 'thumbs-up' indicating that the phone call was connected and she would either get an answering machine or a real person. Kelsey was waiting in the lobby. She felt bad, taking money from her, but at the same time, she was grateful to be able to tell her friends where she was and that she was okay. A phone began to ring over the line. Maya adjusted the headset, hoping that Kendrix was home.

Someone picked up the phone before the first ring had ended. "Hello?" Kendrix asked, sounding worried and exhausted.

"Hi," Maya said softly. "It's Maya."

"Oh my God!" Kendrix cried into the phone and then covered the mouthpiece and yelled, "It's Maya!"

The resultant noise on the other line was a cacophony of loud voices and people shuffling around, arguing over the phone. Was everyone in her and Kendrix's apartment, waiting for her to finally call or send a wire? It was just like them to call Kelsey and ask about her. How many of the other Lightspeed Rangers did they call in their frenzy?

Finally, Mike said loudly, over all the other voices, "I outrank all of you! Give me the phone!"

There was some protest, but the noise quieted. "Maya?" Mike asked into the phone.

"Hey," she replied, smiling. "Is everyone over there?"

He paused. "Uh-huh."

"Have any of you gone to work like you were supposed to?"

The silence was not reassuring. "Look, Stanton understands what we were going through," he explained. "Things have been really slow and he didn't mind. Besides, we've been going in for partial shifts."

"You guys shouldn't skip work because of me."

"When we didn't hear from you, we were worried."

She didn't doubt that. Leo had probably been ready to jump on the next shuttle to Earth and hunt her down himself. The six of them had grown close in a relatively short period of time. It was kind of funny really, since they all had such varied backgrounds—the stowaway, the science officer, the navigator, the commander, the mechanic. It was like the five who ultimately received the Quasar Sabers were thrown together from all walks of life.

"What's happened?" Mike asked.

That was a hard question to answer. She had talked to Trini twice and contacted the others, found the ninja academy and learned of what needed to be done. They had a plan of action and nothing was going to stop that plan. But what should she tell Mike? Her reasons had seemed flimsy to Kendrix… they would seem even flimsier to Mike. Were they all surrounded by skeptics and disbelievers?

"It's hard to explain," she said slowly.

"Maya, it has to be something, otherwise you wouldn't have hopped a shuttle to Earth without so much as a goodbye for the rest of us."

"I know. I have my saber. I'll be all right."

Her eyes flicked to her morpher. The morphers had appeared when one drew the Quasar Saber from the stone. The legends of the Quasar Sabers had been told ever since she could remember. For three thousand years, no one could pull the sabers from their resting place. Then Furio came and, with him, came the chosen ones. She had never imagined she would be one of the chosen, one of the ones to become the Power Rangers. She had also never imagined losing her world and gaining a new one in the space of one day. That was also when they had thought they lost Mike… no… she was not going to allow him to get involved in this. It had almost killed Leo to lose his older brother before and it was not going to happen again, not on her time.

"I told Kendrix all I knew before I left," she added.

"Surely you've learned something else." She could almost see his frown—the way he looked when something didn't quite sound right to him.

"I'm with the others. Everything is taken care of."

"Which others?"

"Kelsey and Dustin and Kira and Taylor."

He knew who Kelsey was. He had never met her, but he knew who she was. "I'm going to wire you some money, care of Kelsey," he said.

"Mike, no-"

"I'm wiring you money," he interrupted, leaving no room for argument. "If I know anything about you, then you've spent all your money on a shuttle to wherever you're going, calling on pay phones and sending letters and then slept on a park bench."

She remained silent. When he was right, he was right. How did he get to know her that well? It was uncanny in a sense. "All right," she replied softly. "But promise me that you won't lead a rescue mission to Earth!" she added loudly.

"Why would I do that?" He sounded puzzled.

"I know you—it's somewhere floating around in your mind."

"All right! I won't come to Earth. But you have to promise to be careful and not run off doing something stupid." He paused. "I don't want anything to happen to you."

There was some shuffling on the other line and Leo whispered loudly, "Just tell her, Mike!" There was a sound of someone being punched—probably Leo, before the chaos about someone else having a turn to talk started up again.

"Can everybody just shut-up?" Damon yelled, clearly heard in the phone. "You all will get a chance to talk to her!"

"Let us know if anything happens," Mike said quickly. "Take care of yourself."

"I will. Bye, Mike."

"Bye!"

"You wuss!" Leo yelled, probably aimed at Mike.

"Give me the phone!" Kendrix was crying. "She's my roommate! It's my phone!"

Maya smiled as she listened to the others yelling at each other, trying to decide who got to talk to her next. It was amazing that they had ever learned to work together long enough to be rangers together. She supposed that it was a mark of how much they cared about each other that they would beat each other up trying to talk to a missing group member. They would decide who got to talk—she just hoped that this phone call wouldn't cost too much and that Mike would wire the money quickly so she could reimburse Kelsey.

* * *

Dustin got out of the car and stretched. After he had gone to give Mrs. Devine the rent money, his car had decided it wasn't going to start. It was one of the normal problems—no oil or no coolant. He could not count how many time he had both those systems repaired professionally and how many times he had fixed it himself and yet, they still broke down on a regular basis. The conclusion was that he needed a new car. The corollary was that he didn't have the money to get a new car—it was cheaper from month to month to just repair the junk bucket. 

So, after getting the car running, he was late beyond belief. He had called Kelsey and got directions to the camp site, so he could meet them straight there. She had been cool about it—giving him the directions and then stating that they could go grocery and supplies shopping when he got there. That made sense since he did have the credit card that was funding everything.

The park had been easy to find and he found their camp site by stumbling upon a place where two yellow cars and one blue rental car were parked. He didn't know anyone else who purposely bought yellow cars and Kelsey was waving to him, while Taylor and Kira were working on setting up a small tent next to a huge one.

"Hey!" Kelsey said with a grin as he opened the back door of the car to unload his stuff. "Got the car working?"

"Finally," he replied with a grimace. "I really need a new car."

"Don't we all?" she commiserated, motioning to her station wagon that had once been yellow and had a drooping back bumper.

He laughed. At least someone else understood about faulty cars. "Where's Maya?" he asked as Kelsey picked up an armful of sleeping bags and he shouldered his duffel bag and picked up his pillow.

"Finding firewood," she replied.

Kira joined them and helped Kelsey with the sleeping bags. "We set up your tent," she said, gesturing to the little green tent next to a large navy blue one. "You're welcome."

"Thanks," he said.

He threw his sleeping bag, pillow and duffel bag into his tent, while Kira and Kelsey put the other sleeping bags in the large tent. Taylor was sitting at the picnic table, pulling flashlights and other gear out of a plastic box. That was one thing he remembered—his flashlight with extra batteries. She looked to be in a better mood than she had been earlier that day even. Did she go get laid before coming up here?

Oh well, stranger things had happened. He went over to the picnic table where Kira and Kelsey joined them. Kira shoved him down onto one of the benches, in a playful manner. He winced—for someone who looked so petite, she was strong. Taylor looked up at him and gave him a neutral look.

"Hi," he said, forcing a smile.

"Do you have a flashlight?" she asked, ignoring his attempt at formalities. Well, maybe she didn't get laid.

"Uh, yes," he said, flashing her another grin.

She rolled her eyes. He supposed that that was better than her signature glare. "Good. We have enough flashlights to go around."

"I told you it wouldn't be a problem," Kelsey said. "Besides, we should stick together after dark anyways and a shortage of flashlights would have facilitated that."

"And we don't know what kind of creeps might be after us," Kira added.

Dustin didn't know what to think of that. According to the scroll of destiny, then Vypra was already putting her plan into action. Anyone could have read that scroll before it was stored at the Wind Ninja Academy and anyone could have made a copy. That scroll clearly said who the yellow rangers were. Unless Vypra and her bunch were relying on their hiding place being well hidden, they must have a plan to take them out. Then again, sometimes people were that arrogant. For the first time in his life, he wished he was Cam, because Cam would have known what to do about all this, what to think.

Maya came into the camp site and dropped an armful of wood by the picnic table. "We have to contact them tonight," she said. "There isn't much time."

There wasn't much time for what?

* * *

Kelsey studied the other faces as they stood around the campfire that night. Maya was gazing into the fire. She wasn't entirely sure what they were doing since they had already contacted Trini and knew basically what their mission was. Then again, there had to be more details to it than Trini had initially said. Maya had said that they needed to contact the spirits and it starting to look like doubting Maya was a bad idea. She sighed, watching the others. Taylor looked bored and antsy. No doubt she was tired of waiting and contacting the spirit world. She probably just wanted to jump right into the mission. Shoot anything that moves and then ask questions… that seemed to be her motto. However, there seemed to be something else there and she wasn't sure what it was. 

Kira was looking into the fire with a contemplative look on her face. She appeared to be deep in thought albeit slightly troubled. Kelsey wondered what tragedy she could have had in her life… she was so young. Granted, Kelsey didn't know much about Kira other than the basic facts that they had exchanged when lost in the woods together. Dustin was standing in between Kira and Taylor, looking thoughtful and anxious. Kira had made a comment earlier that Dustin was being unnaturally quiet. Kelsey imagined that he was normally a happy-go-lucky kind of guy who openly wore his emotions. 'What you see is what you get' seemed to describe him perfectly, if he had been acting normally. He and Kira were so young. What had happened to them to take away their sense of spirit and happiness?

"It's time," Maya said softly.

Kelsey snapped her attention to Maya, watching passively as she performed the usual ritual that brought them into contact with the spirit world. Maya was a mystery to all of them. She had been when she and the other Galaxy Rangers came to help the Lightspeed Rescue Rangers. She was like the sage that held wisdom none of them could hope to achieve and she was in tune with nature almost unnaturally. While she related to Maya, there were also grounds for being afraid of her.

"I call on the spirit of the Yellow Ranger that has gone beyond. I call on her for guidance in this moment of confusion." She turned and looked to the rest of them. "More are coming," she whispered. "Hold out your hands."

Kelsey exchanged a nervous glance with Kira as they all stepped closer to Maya, their palms outstretched. Maya took out the pocket knife and Kelsey cringed, knowing what was going to happen. She nicked each of their index fingers and held their hands over the fire so that a drop of blood fell to the fire. Once Maya released her hand, Kelsey winced feeling the sharp pain through her finger again and put her finger in her mouth, sucking away the blood to stop the bleeding. Maya cut her own finger and her blood fell in the fire.

Tiny blue lights rose from the fire and formed into four shapes on the opposite side of the fire from where they were. Kelsey recognized Trini. With her were three men. One of them had golden skin and eyes, longish black hair and an aura of pure and cool power about him. He studied all of them with practiced indifference. The man in the middle had shoulder-length blonde hair was in raucous curls, summer-sky blue eyes and sported large wings—fairy wings—that were dark blue and silver, the colors swirling to the very tips. He smiled warmly at them. The final man was completely bald. Kelsey couldn't be sure if he had shaved his head or never had any hair. He had warm brown eyes and was clad in a kimono of sorts.

"A wish made with blood is an offering to those who have gone beyond," Trini intoned with a smile for them. "How are all of you?"

"Fine," Taylor said shortly. Kira smiled, nodding. Dustin shrugged. Kelsey just stared at them, entranced by the men who had come with Trini.

"Tonight is the first quarter," Trini said. "The ceremony will be held at the new moon. You have twenty-four days." She paused. "Let me introduce the others who have come with me. This is Lucivar, the Prince of the Demons and Darkness, leader of the Dark Council." She indicated the black-haired man. Kelsey involuntarily shuddered. Something about him said that he was powerful and most of the power was evil.

"King Boric of the fairy court," Trini continued, pointing to the blonde man with fairy wings. Now his wings made sense. He was a fairy. Kelsey had always read that fairies were small, but perhaps he had glamour or something to make him appear human sized.

"And Zordon, leader of the Council of Light."

Kelsey recognized the name Zordon. What Power Ranger didn't? He was the being that had led the first teams of Power Rangers, giving them their power coins and helping them harness and create new powers. However, by the time any of them became rangers, Zordon had long since ceased to exist in the mortal realm.

"We have twenty-four days?" Maya asked. "We don't even know where to being searching for them!"

"You will search in the mortal realm," Lucivar said suddenly, starting all of them. He spoke in a low tenor with a slight hiss and seductive quality. His voice seemed to be the embodiment of pure evil. "Leave the spirit search to us. My sister is one of the ones scheming in this madness. I will find her and she will be destroyed."

"Lucivar," Zordon interrupted. His voice was a low bass, but unlike Lucivar, it was warm and caring, like an older male relative who listened and cared. "You have read the scrolls of destiny. These five are the ones who must stop this. None of us can do much more except to aide them."

Lucivar didn't reply, but his jaw was clenched. In his silence, Boric spoke up. "I have employed one of my scouts to help you look. He cannot stay in the mortal realm long, but he can help in bits and pieces." He paused. "He should arrive sometime in the morning."

"But what if we end up face to face with these demons?" Kira asked. "Most of us no longer have our powers."

Kelsey knew what she meant. She and Maya were the only ones that still had their powers. Taylor, Dustin and Kira had either given their powers back to the one who held the source or their powers had been destroyed or drained. It was also something that she had not thought about before. She had always had her powers and had taken it for granted that she always would. What would happen if she suddenly lost her rescue morpher? Zordon nodded at their question.

"I have the power to give you back your morphing ability. However, it would only be for the duration of this mission."

She watched as the trio without their powers nodded. Zordon closed his eyes and held his hand out towards the fire. A swirling blue light appeared and went to the wrists of Dustin and Kira, Taylor's palm. A morpher appeared on Dustin's wrist, while a large silver bracelet appeared on Kira's wrist. Something that looked remarkably like a cell phone appeared in Taylor's hand. They looked at their morphers and then back to Zordon, smiling.

"Why us?" Dustin asked. "I don't understand why the ancient ninjas chose us."

Zordon gave the young Wind Ranger an appraising look. "This mission has been set down before the dawn of time. The ancient ninjas had as little control over it as you do. They just faithfully recorded what would happen. They knew it would fall into the right hands."

"How do you know these are the right hands?"

Zordon nodded. He was obviously the wisest and most powerful of the four that were with them. "You are all Yellow Rangers. I know that not much power and prestige comes with your position. The others are remembered. The red rangers are seen for their leadership and strength. The pink rangers are seen for their caring and kindness, their compassion. Other colors are mentioned and brought to mind over yellow. But now is the time for the Yellow Rangers to take charge. It is time for you to step up and realize your destiny. All of you have been silent too long, saving your strength for a battle that never came. That battle is here.

"Yellow Rangers are known for their quiet, meditative nature. They most often are the ones who are active and loyal. They are the ones with the sixth sense and the ones that want to help the others. All of you possess these qualities, even if you do not know it." Zordon paused, smiling at the only male in their group. "Dustin, you are the only male Yellow Ranger from Earth. That, in and of itself, is a distinction. You are stronger than you think. All of you are."

"Aren't there other Yellow Rangers?" Kira asked.

"Yes," Zordon replied. "But they have other obligations. Some of them have families and children. Some of them are in the future. Some of them are helping the Earth in another way. Some are in the spirit realm," he added, indicating Trini.

"Will you help us?" Maya asked.

He nodded. "I will always been in contact with you. All you need do is call." He paused and looked on all of them fondly. "I am proud of you. You serve the legacy well."

"But how can we stop them?" Kelsey spoke up, feeling confused. "Five of us against countless demons? It seems impossible."

"Nothing is impossible," Zordon said gently. "If you only believe."

"Believe in what?" Taylor's voice was tinged with sarcasm.

"You must have confidence in your skills. I know you can do it."

"Farwell for now," Trini said. "We will be in touch."

With that, the four of them dissipated into blue sparkles, leaving them alone with the cool night. Kelsey looked to the others. They all looked as stunned as she felt. This was amazing, but what had she done to deserve it? There were so many times when she felt like she had failed her teammates… too many to count. Could she do this? Suddenly the guilt began to make sense…

"They really trust us," Kira said softly.

"They do," Maya replied.

"We can't scour the ruins much with no light," Kelsey said. "The ruins of their old temple are vast. We'll have to wait until first light." 

_To Be Continued..._

* * *

**Author's Note:** To quote Marshall McLuhan, _I don't necessarily agree with everything I say_. With that, I hope everyone is doing well and completing their homework assignments or work tasks. As per usual, thanks to new and old reviewers and lurkers who read but don't review. Everyone have a wonderful day. Have you hugged your zord today-EK 


	10. Power of Earth

**Disclaimer:** Power Rangers is copyright of BVE. No infringement is intended.

**RESTLESS WARRIORS**

By Etcetera Kit

**Chapter Ten: Power of Earth**

Taylor watched as the others roasted marshmallows over their dying fire. They were laughing about something. She wasn't sure what it was. She just remained in her lawn chair, reading a book by the dim lantern light that governed their camp site. So much had happened to her in the last two days. She had come on a seemingly ridiculous mission, seen ghosts, been discharged from the Air Force and hired on to the Silver Guardians. The latter two had happened within an hour of each other. Eric had been surprisingly calm and reasonable when she had told him that she wasn't sure when she was going to be able to start and then launched into the long story about what was going on here. Oh well, it was good to know she had a job, even if her boss was the world's biggest asshole, but great in bed.

"That's so not cool, dude!"

She suppressed the urge to duck-tape Dustin's mouth shut. Dustin had opened up since their encounter with the leaders in the spirit realm. At first, he had seemed shy and almost afraid of everyone around him. Now, he was now talking faster than any human being had any right to and he managed to say 'dude' more often than not. It made her wonder if part of this nervous energy was from being surrounded by women, when he was normally surrounded by other guys. She could also tell that Dustin and she were going to get into an argument over his motor-mouth and choice of words quickly.

"Dude!" he was saying to Kira, while laughing. "We slot-car race too. We just have to go over to Shane's place and play it on his computer."

"You don't have it on your computer?" Kira asked.

"Nah," he replied, shaking his head. "I don't do computer games. If it can't be done on a video game system, then I don't bother with it. Besides, I don't like mouses."

"Mice?" Kira asked skeptically.

"No, dude, mouses."

Kelsey and Kira exchanged glances and burst out laughing. Dustin looked at them for a moment, with an exaggerated hurt expression on his face, before he realized that his marshmallow was on fire. There were several moments of theatrics that ended with Kelsey blowing out the marshmallow for him.

"Thanks, man," he said to Kira. "You guys made me burn my marshmallow," he added to no one in particular.

"There's plenty more," Kelsey reassured him as she passed him the graham crackers and chocolate bars to make a s'more.

"I just feel kind of weird being around all these girls," Dustin commented as he squashed the marshmallow between the graham crackers and chocolate. "I mean are you guys going to start talking about weird girl things that I don't want to hear about?"

"Would you like us to?" Kira asked.

He choked on the large bite he had just taken out of his s'more. Maya absently patted his back while staring at the dying embers. "Thanks, Maya," he said. "I think I read somewhere that charcoal is good for your stomach," he added indicating his s'more with the burnt marshmallow.

"Where did that come from?" Kira said incredulously.

Dustin shrugged. "I don't know."

"Well, guys," Kelsey said. "I think we should hike to the bathrooms and then turn in for tonight."

"Hey!" Dustin protested. "What about all the rest of this stuff? We can't let perfectly good s'more ingredients go to waste!"

"Want to make s'mores any other time while we're out here?" Kelsey countered.

Dustin thought for a moment. "Good point."

"Are you sure about that?" Kira asked Kelsey. "I mean look what the sugar's already done to him. Do we want him hyped on sugar every night?"

"He's not in our tent," came the reply. "We don't have to deal with it."

"Quit talking about me like I'm not here, dudes!"

Taylor inwardly groaned. Did they all just think that this was some kind of extended camping trip? Granted, they were still fuzzy about what they actually needed to do. None of the spirit realm leaders had been able to detail what stopping this ceremony would actually take. Of course, they needed to find the ceremony first… and then there were the demons that were bound to be following them and this fairy scout that was coming… it was a mess, one huge, colorful mess and there was no way out of it.

"Coming, Taylor?" Kira called, stepping into the large tent that the four females would be sharing. Kelsey and Dustin were in the distance, sprinkling water over the remains of the fire. He seemed to find it extremely amusing that the embers popped when water was poured directly over them. Taylor rolled her eyes. To think that twenty-four hours ago, Dustin had not been overly fond of fire. Well, she thought back to her first Girl Scout camping trip as a kid—she had gone from being afraid of matches to loving them in a single afternoon.

"Yeah!" she called to Kira.

She already had her things for the bathroom trip ready to go. She had just been waiting for them to get done with their s'mores. Maya and Kelsey disappeared into the girls' tent while Dustin ducked into his tiny tent that had been pitched directly next to theirs. Soon everyone had their things and they were en route to the bathroom with Dustin and Kira exchanging tips on some video game that both of them played. Again, she wouldn't have pictured Kira as the type to be into video games, but… it wasn't her judgment call. The bathroom couldn't come soon enough, as Taylor had had quite enough of the video game talk. Both bathrooms were empty when they finally got there.

"Hey guys, don't come in here and peek!" Dustin called before ducking into the men's bathroom.

"Are you seven?" Kira yelled after him.

"Eight!" came the response from inside the building.

Kira rolled her eyes, suppressing laughter as they went into the women's bathroom. "He reminds me of Conner," she said. "The only difference is Conner has a one-track mind about soccer. He has a one-track mind about video games."

Taylor just rolled her eyes and followed them to the sinks. She had already thought it a million times in the short time she had known these people, but once more wasn't going to hurt. It was going to be a long trip. The girls ended up waiting on Maya and Kira to shower (Taylor assuming that she and Kelsey would shower in the morning). When they got out of the bathroom, Dustin was outside waiting for them, wearing a pair of yellow plaid pajama pants and a tattered wife beater. He was flicking drops of water off of his hair, making patterns on the sidewalk. For a fleeting moment, she was reminded of Max. That was something he would do. She swallowed a lump that threatened to form in her throat. She was not going to indulge in self-pity and loneliness, not now.

"Feel free to act your age and not your shoe size anytime now," Kira muttered.

Dustin gave her a lopsided grin. "Those aren't that far apart in the grand scheme of things."

"I'm willing to bet they are," Kira countered.

"How old are you two anyways?" Taylor cut into the conversation. The words came spilling out of her mouth. She had been dying to ask that question for a while and it just popped out, now that she was annoyed.

Dustin and Kira turned to her with uniform expressions of amazement. Taylor thought for a moment that those two were just not used to people asking them how old they were, but then again, most people were amazed to find that she was as young as she was.

"Twenty," Dustin replied finally.

"Nineteen," Kira said.

Great, Taylor thought. Neither of them is even completely legal yet. She sighed and led the way back to the campsite, willing to bet that Dustin and Kira were bringing up the rear and whispering about her behind her back. She got into her sleeping bag, wondering what had possessed her to listen to that letter, to help these moronic people.

God, she would have given anything to have Eric along. He would have put Dustin in his place a long time ago.

* * *

"Vypra…"

She shuddered at Jareth's tone of voice. It was a little under a month before the ceremony had to go forth and there were still many things to be done. She needed certain herbs, incense and amulets. It would be fruitless to send the goblins to do it, since they were, for the most part, incompetent fools. She had to dawn a human disguise and frequent the occult back allies of the human world, looking for the items she needed and then checking to make sure that they were genuine. Jareth had one task—finding a suitable human for the sacrifice. So far, she had not seen even hints that he had chosen a human.

It was people like Jareth that made her wish that she could pull this off on her own, but this was impossible. She needed his power to stop the yellow rangers long enough for the ceremony to go forth. He might be arrogant, but his armies were superior to any other that she could have put together. Besides, no one else would want to follow her. They actually believed that ridiculous scroll that those old fool ninjas wrote. It was stupid to believe what ancient ninjas doped up opium said. Five yellow rangers were not a threat. By the time she was done here, those five would be history along with all the other rangers that had ever been.

"They have called the five together," he hissed. She would never understand how he could make his voice sound angry, while at the same time, seductive.

"You knew they were going to do that," she snapped. "You've seen the scroll as many times as I have." She didn't have time for his surprise. There was too much to be done for this ceremony. She didn't have the time.

"Yes…" he mused. "But I wonder where the rest of your scroll is."

If she had had a heart, it would have started beating faster. Why did he care that her scroll was incomplete? It didn't matter what the rest of the scroll said, their immense power would stop anything in their way. "We don't need the rest of the scroll. We will have enough power to destroy those who do and then that will be obsolete." She paused. It was time to figure out what he had been up to and why there was no human. "So where is the human you keep bragging about using for the ceremony?"

"That, my dear, will be a surprise."

His idea of a surprise didn't tend to coincide with anyone else's idea of a surprise. "You do understand that the human has to have the scarification and be in our keep for ten days before the ceremony?" All of that except the scarification was a lie. The human could have the scarification and be bleeding from it on the altar for all the ceremony cared. It just had to have the marks. It also didn't matter if it was in their keep. But maybe, this would make Jareth get his act together.

"Vypra, Vypra," he said, shaking his head sadly as if dealing with an unruly child. Did he guess that what she had just said was mostly a lie? "How many times must I tell you that the human will be here?"

"Tell me who the human is, since you're so confident about it."

Jareth laughed. "I imagine that when those Yellow Rangers burst in on the ceremony, they will so shocked to see one of their own as the sacrifice, that they will be easy to subdue."

Vypra turned to him, disgusted. "And you say I underestimate their power? Have you considered that that might make them angry and give them more power?" She had seen the way these Power Ranger interacted. Even if they didn't like one another, they fought to the death for each other, if for no other reason that the pure fact that they all had once fought for the same cause.

He looked nonplussed. "Trust me. I can make a deal with one of them to get rid of their Wind Ranger. She will not miss him and the others will not suspect something until it is too late."

"You underestimate them. You cannot plan on pitting them against each other." This was complete madness. Jareth was being a fool. There was no way that that plan could ever succeed.

"I guess this is why I am in charge of security and getting the human and you are not!" he snapped, his voice low and full of poison. "Do not cross me, Vypra. I know my role in this scheme and you know yours. Now shut your mouth!" he spat and stalked from the temple.

She held her breath and counted to ten. There were times she wished she could have found someone other than Jareth, with the same power, to go along with her plan. All the rest of the spirit realm was convinced that they would be wiped out of existence if this went through. They were all fools. She hated the fact that she needed him, was depending on him in this. He was mad. She needed to tell one of the goblins to get another human. There was no way he'd be able to get one of the rangers unless the ranger was captured in a battle.

The amulet she had wrapped around her wrist began to glow and become warm. She ignored it. There were two identical amulets like this in the spirit realm. One belonged to her and the other belonged to her brother, Lucivar. The warmth and glowing meant he was trying to contact her. He had been trying to contact her for days. This was ridiculous. He knew what she had to gain as much as she did. Why didn't he leave alone? The only good thing was that he would not find her here. Lucivar had grown weak over the centuries and his once powerful army had splintered into fragments. One of those fragments had been Queen Banshera. He had called her a fool once too often. Well, they would see who the fool was after this ceremony went through.

But who could find her here? A fairy in the mortal realm could see through her cloaking and find them. A fairy could also decipher the markings on the old ruins and that could lead those rangers straight to them. However, fairies could not stay in the mortal realm long without growing weak, so the chances of a fairy being around long enough to detect her were laughable. Fairies also kept to themselves and eschewed interaction with others in the spirit realm. The chances of Boric sending one of his precious fairies to help Zordon's brats was as slim as a fairy being around long enough to decipher the markings. The other spirits—the Dark Council and the Council of Light—could not pass into the mortal realm unless called by a mortal and they could only remain there as a shadow, a ghost of what had been. They could do no harm and could not help. All of them except Zordon…

She banished the thought.

Nothing was going to stop her. Nothing.

* * *

Dustin groaned and hit his pillow, trying to find a comfortable place on the hard ground. However, it was a thing never to be achieved. He never had this much trouble sleeping on previous camping trips, why should this be any different? Well, for starters, he was in his own tent and didn't have anyone to talk to when he couldn't sleep or people to tell him to shut-up or snoring that was rhythmic enough to lull him to sleep. No, it was just him and his sleeping bag and countless bugs and furry woodland creatures outside the tent. It was so noisy out here—how had he ever been able to sleep before. For once in his life, he wished he brought a book or his CD player or something…

He also didn't like being alone when he felt like demons were going to jump into his tent at any moment. That was ridiculous and could be chalked up as him being jittery all by himself at night. Why did he start worrying like this when he was alone and it was dark? During the day or when he was with the others, this wasn't a problem.

And tomorrow they had to start searching the ruins for wherever these demons thought that they could start the ceremony. And that fairy guy had said he was going to send one of his scouts to help them. That was laughable—what was this guy going to look like? He couldn't imagine that someone like Boric would fit in real well around here.

The wind kicked up around the tent.

Dustin shuddered. Maybe he could convince one of the girls to sleep in the tent with him, if he made it clear he wasn't going to try anything. Not that he wanted to try anything with the particular bunch of women with him…

His nerves finally hit a breaking point. He groped around in the semi-darkness by his pillow for a moment, before his fingers closed around his flashlight. Clicking it on, he frantically shone it around his tent for a moment. Deciding that there was nothing unnatural in his tent with him, he propped the flashlight up next to his pillow and pulled his old morpher from his duffel bag. By the dim light of the flashlight, his old morpher and the new one Zordon had given him looked the same. The only difference was that one held his ranger powers and the other didn't. The only male yellow ranger from Earth… he had always liked the color yellow, even though it wasn't entirely manly. And he never knew why he had an affinity for that color, although it started to make more sense once he joined the Wind Ninja Academy.

He shoved his old morpher back in his duffel bag, tempted to go sleep in his car where he could turn the radio on. Groaning, he buried his face in his pillow.

"Dustin?"

Grabbing the flashlight, he shone it at the entrance to his tent. That got him nowhere since he had the tent entrance completely zipped up. "Who's there?" he asked, knowing that it sounded stupid, but he wanted to know who it was.

"It's Maya."

"Oh." He lowered the flashlight from the door and scooted across the minuscule tent floor to the entrance zipper. That revealed Maya to be crouched outside his tent. "Hey," he said softly, remembering that Tori used to yell at them for making noise on camping trips.

"Can I come in?" she asked.

"Sure," he replied, scooting back to his sleeping bag. Maya entered the tent and sat cross-legged on the ground next to his sleeping bag.

"Taylor woke up to your flashlight," she explained in a soft voice. "She was going to come yell at you, but I told her I'd do it."

"Oh." He paused and gave her a curious look. Her features were serene. "You don't look like you're here to yell at me."

"No, I'm not," she agreed. "You're nervous about being by yourself in the tent."

"Yeah," he ran a hand through his messy hair. "I was thinking about just sleeping in my car and putting the radio on."

"You won't have enough room to sleep in there."

"I barely have enough room to sleep in here!"

Maya laughed. "Do you always fall asleep to music?"

"More often than not."

She nodded, a look of understanding coming over her face. "Come on," she said in a motherly tone of voice. "Get in your sleeping bag."

"Huh?"

"I'm tucking you in. Get in your sleeping bag."

It was an order that he didn't dare disobey. He crawled into his sleeping bag and didn't know what to think as Maya zipped him in and turned off his flashlight. Sighing, he turned over onto his stomach and buried his face in his pillow. A moment later, Maya was gently rubbing his back, a soothing back and forth motion between his shoulder blades. And for some strange reason, he knew Maya was just trying to take care of him. It wasn't an advance. But hadn't Trini told him he was supposed be the caretaker?

_But you first must take care of yourself before you take care of the others._

Maya started to sing softly. Her voice was a low alto and rich. It was soothing. Combined with the gentle motion on his back and her voice, he felt his eyes begin to droop shut. He wasn't even aware of the words that Maya was singing. Part of it seemed to be in a language that wasn't from Earth.

Just before he fell asleep, he thought he heard one line of the song.

_Though the heavens stop turning, I'll be holding on to our dream._

And that line suddenly made all the sense in the world.

_ To Be Continued..._

* * *

**Author's Note:** Words of wisdom: Relish today. Ketchup tomorrow. I read that somewhere- and now I'm not sure where. The usual thanks goes out to new and old reviewers alike. I'm liking all the great comments and feedback in general- keep it up! In many ways, early comments help to shape the future ending of my work. (With long pieces like this, short pieces not so much.) Once more, thanks for reviewing-EK 


	11. Searching

**Disclaimer:** Power Rangers are... you already know this. I still don't own them.

**RESTLESS WARRIORS**

By Etcetera Kit

**Chapter Eleven: Searching**

Taylor tried not to glower as Dustin cheerfully clambered over a pile of rubble on Kelsey's command. This searching thing was not going entirely well. Kelsey knew where the ruins of the old temple were, but all of that had been destroyed in the Lightspeed Rangers last battle with Vypra. When she had risen from the grave again, she had stolen the Solar Amulet from the Silver Hills Museum to raise a powerful demon. Apparently, her idea of a powerful demon was not something that could overwhelm two teams of rangers. Now they were combing over bits of rubble looking for an entrance to… something that didn't seem to exist.

That morning had been an experience—especially since she had been ready to throttle Dustin and his light show last night. Then again, it was easy to forget how light shone through tent material like there was nothing there. What did he have to be afraid of? He had been camping before, he had said so himself. She shook her head. They all had reason to be afraid, but it was so intangible and so elusive that it hardly seemed a threat.

Maya seemed to have appointed herself to give the wake-up call. Not that Taylor needed a wake-up call, since she had already gone running and showered, long before Maya had decided the others needed to get up. She didn't know what Maya did, but Kira, Kelsey and Dustin emerged from their tents in a surprisingly good mood and didn't look groggy at all. She was tempted to ask what the secret was, but decided that there was no point, since the chances of Maya actually telling her were slim.

After a breakfast of cold cereal and Pop-Tarts, they had begun this endless expedition of hiking around ruins with no results. (Kelsey and Dustin had gone to the grocery store yesterday afternoon and it was a good thing that Kelsey went with Dustin, because there was no telling what they could have been eating if Dustin chose everything.)

Maya was humming to herself and meandering along behind Dustin and Kelsey. Kira was studying a strange inscription on what appeared to be an old altar in the middle of everything else. Taylor decided to join Kira and see what the Dino Ranger had found.

"Find something?" she asked, as she approached the altar.

Kira turned to face her, her hazel eyes guarded. "I don't know," she replied. The musician traced the writing with her fingers. "It's a beautiful script. I wonder what it says."

"Probably nothing good since we're in the middle of a demon temple."

"And you've never been interested in the occult?" Kira retorted, a biting edge on her words that could rival Taylor on a bad day.

And she had to admit, Kira had a point. When she had been in high school, she had been ferociously interested in Wiccan spells and rituals, along with rune stones, tarot cards and palmistry. The idea of ghosts and evil spirits never bothered her and, to her knowledge, she had never been plagued by one. However, her faith in that kind of thing died. She had tried a spell to stop her family from squabbling and fighting all the time. She had followed what the book said to the letter—down to the time it had to be performed. It didn't work. Her family continued to argue and, just before her high school graduation, her parents got divorced. She had quit dabbling in the occult and believing in that crap.

_Lavender by the gate of a garden… for luck._

_ We honor the old ways simply because they have existed for thousands of years._

_ Time is a powerful thing._

As Cam's words came floating back to her, she wondered how he had lived life for so long, straddling the practical and logical world of computers and technology, while adhering to the traditional life and values that the ninjas aspired to. She had tried to do that in high school and couldn't find a happy medium between the two. It was like they could never be reconciled to one another. Even when she had been a ranger, she had viewed their ranger powers as technological and man-made—much like Kelsey's ranger powers or even Dustin's ranger powers. She liked to think that Princess Shayla got their powers from someone who had made them a long time ago. Everything had to be logical and reasonable and practical… nothing could be from the occult mindset.

Everything has a price… Had she forgotten so quickly what it had been like to be a part of a team, to be valued and appreciated for what she was? Had she forgotten so quickly what the first kiss that she and Eric had shared had been like? Had she forgotten the things that he whispered in her ear when no one else was listening? _Beautiful… intelligent… _She drew in her breath sharply. He had been the first one to call her beautiful. No one had ever called her that before—not her parents or her previous boyfriends… she was the type that people dated because she had 'personality', whatever that meant in the long run.

"You all right?" Kira asked.

"I'm fine," she snapped.

"Well, we need to figure out what language this writing is, so we can translate it." Kira gave her a mild look. "It might tell us something we need to know."

"Do I look like I have an Arabic dictionary on me?"

"I don't think you'll find that writing in any dictionary of yours," a cultured voice with a slight British accent cut in. "Although, it is possible to translate it, if you know the right people."

Kira and Taylor turned to see a very tall, very skinny man standing behind them. He had a shock of light brown hair, spilling over his forehead. His nose was large and accentuated by the glasses that kept sliding down. His eyes were large and owlish. He blinked at them as he took in their shocked faces.

"Oh!" he said suddenly, like he remembered something. "So rude of me not to introduce myself! Sorry about that! I'm Arval Parrot, a scout and a scholar in the court of King Boric."

King Boric… he was the fairy scout that Boric had promised he would send last night, although the man looked extraordinarily human to be a fairy. "You look human," Taylor said in a flat voice, trying to sort out her thoughts.

"Well, it's called a disguise, isn't it?" Arval replied, sounding indignant. "I can't very well go parading around your realm in my true form, now can I?"

"Hey! Cool it!" Taylor snapped at him. "I was just asking."

"Magic is so easy to forget," Arval said sadly, shaking his head at her.

"How do we know you're not a spy from Vypra or someone?" Kira asked him.

"Oh! Right-o!" Arval waved his hand and a strange looking sword appeared in his hand. "The Magna Defender asked me to take this, just in case you should ask that very question."

"And what does that prove?" Kira said.

"Well, I suppose that the one who fought with the one the Magna Defender gave his powers to would know and not some chit barely away from the schoolmarm's ruler."

Kira's jaw dropped in shock. Taylor fought the urge to snicker. She liked this guy already, even if he did sound a lot like Mary Poppins. He tossed around subtle insults almost better than Eric did and looked nonchalant while doing it, not angry or spiteful or frustrated, just nonchalant. It was like it didn't really matter to him whether or not the subject of his insults was offended or not.

"I think she's that way," Taylor told him, motioning in the direction the remaining trio had wandered.

He nodded curtly. "Well, since I have introduced myself, it is only polite that you two introduce yourselves."

"I'm Taylor," she replied quickly. "That's Kira," she added pointing at Kira, who was still scowling from Arval's apparent insult about her age. She could commiserate with her. It wasn't a compliment, being thought younger than one was, until about age thirty or forty. If he had said that to her, she would have been pissed, but flattered at the same time.

"Well, we're all on the same footing now," Arval said. "Shall we be off?"

"Sure." She paused as she started to lead the way to where the others had gone. "What was that supposed to mean?" she asked him, referring to his last statement.

"Names have power," Arval said. "I have given you my true name. You have given me yours. In essence, we could use that knowledge against one another, but since we are fighting for the same cause, we are allies and do not need to know names for nefarious purposes."

"How can you use names for evil purposes?" Kira piped up, trailing along behind them.

Arval turned and gave her an appraising look. "So the chit is starting to live up to her title in this quest." He paused. "Have you ever seen _Spirited Away_?"

"No," Taylor replied succinctly.

"It's a movie," he said, now sounding bored and disgusted with their lack of knowledge. "Honestly! Are fairies the only ones who go to the movies?" He shook his head. "It's a Japanese movie. A young girl gives an evil woman her name. When the woman has her name, she forgets who she is and the woman creates a new identity for her."

"So, it's a good thing that these demons don't know our names?" Kira ventured.

"And you do not know the true names of the demons," Arval said. "I can tell you right now that Vypra is not that demon's real name. Neither is Lucivar her brother's name." He shrugged. "Demons take on new names when they become what they are."

"What are they to begin with?" Kira asked him.

Arval shook his head. "No one really knows. The only known thing is that they never lead a mortal life. Some old legends say that they are fairies gone evil. Other legends think that they are fallen angels. No one in the spirit realm who still sings was around during those troubled time."

"Do you?" Taylor questioned.

"Do I what?" he retorted.

"Lead a mortal life."

"I am a fairy," he replied, sounding annoyed. "Fairies are the angels who fell to Earth and decided to remain there."

"So the legends say," Kira amended.

"No," Arval responded. "This, we know, is true." He paused. "Now let us find this human who will recognize the Magna Defender's sword. My time in this realm is brief."

* * *

They were silent as they came upon Kelsey, Dustin and Maya shuffling through some old stones, looking for some kind of entrance to an underground tunnel. Kira shook her head slightly and tried to put what Arval had said into perspective. Three days ago, she would have said she didn't believe in ghosts, fairies, talking to the dead or angels. Now, she had no idea what she believed and Arval was not helping that any, by insisting that fairies were angels who fell to Earth. How did they exist in the spirit realm and the mortal realm then? Duh, because they were descended from angels and probably more comfortable in their original habitat.

Maya looked up as they approached and a smile came over her face. "Mike's sword," she said, indicating the weapon that Arval held.

"The Magna Defender said you would recognize it," Arval replied, smiling for the first time since he had stumbled across her and Taylor.

"Of course," Maya replied. "You're the fairy scout?"

"I am." He bowed slightly. Kira found his etiquette a strange mix of formal court behavior from medieval times and things that the modern world condoned. "You must be the other ones destined for this quest, although mission is the more appropriate word."

"You're a fairy?" Dustin asked.

"I am a _ species_ of fairy," Arval replied airily. "My brother and I are what is left of the avian fairies—caretakers of the birds and all winged fauna. We had split the duty." Arval scratched his head, like he was not used to having hair. "I had cared for the grounded birds, while my brother cared for the ones in flight. However, he has been missing." At the mention of his brother, his green eyes flecked with hazel clouded over and he looked almost… sad.

"Where's your brother?" Maya asked.

At the same time, Kelsey asked, "Who's your brother?"

"His name is Owling Byrrd and I don't know where he is. If I knew where he was, he wouldn't be missing, now would he?"

Just like that, Arval was back to snapping at them and sounding like he generally found himself superior to humans.

"How do we know you're really a fairy?" Dustin spoke up.

"Dustin!" Maya reprimanded.

"How am I supposed to know?" he defended himself. "He could be a giant demon in disguise just waiting to pounce."

"You read too many comic books," Taylor muttered.

"I do not!" Dustin protested.

"You want proof?" Arval asked. Dustin nodded. Kelsey and Maya looked fascinated. Taylor looked ready to strangle someone.

The supposed fairy screwed up his face like he was trying hard to remember something and with a faint 'pop' his appearance as a human melted away. In its place, he looked… like an owl… He was still tall and unnaturally skinny, but his limbs no longer looked fleshed out like a human's wood. Instead, they resembled bird feet. His torso was covered in feathers and his face was heart-shaped like an owl's. And his large nose had turned into a beak.

"You see?" Arval asked. "I'm not exactly inconspicuous like this!"

With another 'pop', he changed himself back into his human disguise. Dustin gaped at him, while Maya grinned from ear to ear.

"Now," Arval started, clapping his hands together. "We need to get started on translating some of these ruins. If I am correct, then the demons will have left a details lay-out of their entire layer around here somewhere." He looked around at the five of them and then pointed at her. Kira started. "You," he said. "You are the one to help me!"

"Me?"

But he wasn't listening. He started waving his hand and thick, leather-bound books began to appear out of thin air. As each book appeared, he grabbed it and shoved it into her arms, before starting the same procedure with the next book. Soon, she was holding books up to her chin and sputtering out bits of questions.

"What is all this?" she asked.

"Books on demon-writing!" Arval replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "It's a hard language to master and since the demons aren't amenable to writing a volume on it themselves, we've had to surmise what we can." He paused, looking thoughtful. "The language is and isn't quite like others I've stumbled across." He made a Latin-English dictionary appear in his hand. "In fact, it's some kind of mix between Arabic and Latin, with a little Greek and a little Chinese thrown in here and there for good measure." He shrugged. "We shall have to copy down what we can and then work on translating it."

Kira tried not to blanch. She had never been good at foreign languages. She had barely passed Spanish in high school and the only phrases she actually remembered would be pointless if she went somewhere where people really did speak Spanish. Arval was suggesting she help him translate a language that was a mix of some of the most difficult languages to master, not to mention some of them were dead languages!

"I-I… can't…" she tried to say and still hold all the books.

"Silly girl!" Arval chided. "You're not here to help me translate the writing itself! You're here to help me solve their riddles! Honestly, did you not listen to anything Trini told you?"

"I know some Japanese," Dustin volunteered.

"You know Japanese?" Taylor sounded skeptical and her words had a biting sarcastic edge to them.

Dustin frowned at her. "I know _some_," he stressed. "Sensei made us all learn the basics for good measure."

"That might come in handy," Arval mused. "Come!" he said to her, making a large pad of paper and pen appear out of nowhere. "The sooner we get the writing on paper, the sooner we can begin the translation and the sooner you can solve their riddles!" The fairy paused for a moment and then made a handful of drawing charcoal appear. "That might work better. We can do rubbings of the markings and they'll be more accurate."

"Oh great! The almighty fairy king sends us the biggest bozo from his court!" Taylor growled, looking like she thought the mission was going downhill quickly.

Kira sighed. She didn't know what had made any of these people think she was good at logic problems or riddles. _The path of bread crumbs is yours to decipher._ What path? Did these markings tell them something? Her experience with markings around altars was that they normally were some kind of incantation or description of the worship that went on, praises to the particular deities or something…

Arval ignored Taylor's outburst. "Let's get going!" he said to Kira and then began striding back towards where the altar was.

"Hold on!" she called after him, trying to balance all the books he had shoved in her arms and match his pace. Arval didn't appear to hear her since he was so intent on the task at hand. She thought about indulging in a Ptera-Scream since she did have her powers back, but decided against it. That might shatter some of the ruins that they needed intact.

"Here," Dustin said quickly, stepping forward and relieving her of some of the books.

"I thought fairies were nice," she grumbled as he fell into stride with her, following the path that Arval had taken towards the altar. Maya was saying something to Taylor. The latter nodded and the trio moved back towards their camp site.

"That one's sure an ass," Dustin semi-agreed.

"He has a superiority complex," Kira said. "I just want to know what makes anyone think I can solve riddles better than the next guy."

"I think you're smart. I mean they just don't hand out scholarships to NYU to anyone who can fill out a scholarship form."

Kira remained silent. He had a point, as much as she hated to admit it. Well, she was turning her life around after this quest was over. She gave Dustin a sidelong glance. He hadn't really divulged much of his personal life over the past few days. Sure, he had told her about his suspicions regarding what Trini told him and his last girlfriend, but aside from the fact that he had a faulty car, she had no knowledge of his current situation.

"Do you go to class?" she asked him.

To her eternal surprise, he colored slightly and looked guilty. "No," he admitted. "I wanted to take some time off after high school graduation and I had thought it would be okay since I had two jobs and got some money from races on the weekends. You know, I could pay rent." He sighed. "Didn't work out."

"Are you trying to save for college?"

"That's not as easy as it sounds."

They came upon Arval studying the markings on the altar closely. Kira dumped the books she had been carrying on the altar, while Dustin put his gingerly next to them. Without a word, Kira found herself alone with the crazed fairy, making rubbings of the markings. She wondered what had happened that Dustin didn't want to talk about… but it got pushed out of her mind as Arval started issuing orders.

The sun was high overhead and hot, despite the cool air. Her stomach grumbled, reminding her that it was almost lunchtime and all she had had for breakfast was a Pop-Tart and some juice. Arval had dragged her all over the camp site, making rubbings of any markings they could find and then making a note of where those particular markings were.

"That should about do it," he announced.

Kira rolled her eyes as he picked up the books and she gathered up an armful of rubbings. The others had started making lunch when they came to the camp site. Arval sat down at the picnic table with the books and began to look up things for the rubbings. Kira fought the urge to roll her eyes again and accepted a bottle of water that Dustin offered her.

"Want something to eat?" Kelsey asked Arval.

He shook his head, looking like he didn't want to be disturbed.

"What are we having?" Kira asked.

"Grilled cheese," the Lightspeed Ranger replied. "Want ham on yours?"

She nodded and sat down in one of the lawn chairs next to Dustin. Taylor was pulling out dishes and shooting Arval annoyed, yet appraising looks. Kelsey was working on the grill while Maya was putting together the sandwiches. Dustin was absently twisting the disc on his morpher and looked like he was in deep thought.

Well, if Arval got the markings translated, then it might be a step in the right direction. They might have some idea of what it was they were looking for. Kelsey had said there might be underground caverns… who really knew?

_ To Be Continued..._

* * *

**Author's Note:** I saw SPD the other day... (blinks)... words cannot describe... Needless to say me and some of my close companions have agreed that the powers that be should have continued with Dino Thunder. (No offense to any SPD enthusiasts out there.) And I love the fact that the A squad has the same helmets as the Space Rangers. That cracked me up... At any rate, the usual thanks to reviewers and a big 'howdy' to all the lurkers. (Reviewers can have a big 'howdy' too- whatever makes you happy.) Let us take a moment to remember the good old days of Power Rangers... (moment of silence)... thank you. Have a great week and don't pick up hitchhikers. They are heavy and you might strain yourself. Cheers-EK 


	12. Force of Ages

**Disclaimer:** Still belongs to BVE and not me. So sad...

**RESTLESS WARRIORS**

By Etcetera Kit

**Chapter Twelve: Force of Ages**

Maya slowly took a bite of her grilled cheese sandwich and studied Arval as he moved quickly from book to book. His pen flew over the pages with a familiar scratching noise. Everyone had stopped their idle chatter and was mesmerized by what the fairy was doing. He had a good heart—she could see that clearly. There was also only one person with that particular sword—the Magna Defender. He had gifted Mike with that sword and his powers for a time, until Mike sacrificed his powers to keep open a portal that led Terra Venture out of the lost galaxy. The mere fact that Arval had it, spoke much for his trustworthiness. The Magna Defender would not have allowed anyone he believed suspect, no matter how small the offense, to carry his primary weapon out of the spirit realm.

"Any progress?" Taylor asked, looking like she thought a bulldozer and a jackhammer would suit their purposes much more efficiently than a nerdy fairy that was a language-buff.

"Patience is a virtue," Arval snapped back.

"Not right now, it's not!" the Wild Force Ranger retorted.

Kira exchanged a glance with Kelsey and she shook her head. Maya sighed. "Calm down, Taylor," she said. "We've got time before this ceremony goes forth—a little over three weeks."

"If we get into their lair now," Taylor argued. "It will cut down on the searching and we can start a strategy for attack and dismantling their ceremony!"

"Their lair will probably be guarded, man," Dustin said.

"By what? The Bogey-Man?"

"That's enough," Maya said sharply, putting an edge to her words that she rarely did. "Arval will have this translated soon enough and we'll see if it can aide us in any way."

"Got it!" Arval cried.

They all jumped up from their various sitting places and crowded around the fairy that held a piece of paper. "What does it say?" Kelsey asked.

"In a place that's high but low, where no mortal dare to go. Here the ancient bonds employ, but fear of closed spaces will destroy. Moonlight and starlight will lead thy way. Look for the password by the bay. Follow the old demon's laugh and there you shall find your path."

"Dude, that doesn't make any sense!" Dustin scoffed.

"It's a logic problem," Kira said. "Kind of like a scavenger hunt."

"So what are we looking for?" Kelsey asked.

"Well," Maya interjected. "Look at the first bit. 'In a place that's high but low, where no mortal dare to go'. We're obviously looking for something high in a low place. And it has to be a place where we wouldn't normally go."

"The throne room!" Kira said. "That room was the highest place in the temple, right?" Kelsey nodded to confirm that. "And the temple itself is in a valley."

Kelsey suddenly jumped up. "And there's a stream that goes away from the ruins towards the bay!"

"There must be something underneath the throne room—something that will lead us to the entrance of the underground tunnels," Kira continued.

"Why would they write that on the altar?" Taylor asked, her tone sarcastic.

"It's a demon tradition!" Arval piped up. "Demons put the entrance to their underground crypts, where they only want other demons to go, on their altars. That way, if another demon needs to find them, he can, but others cannot."

"How do you know that?" Dustin exclaimed.

"Demon studies are fascinating!" Arval replied enthusiastically. "It's a young science, but the things we are learning tell us much about the demons and how to fight them and how to keep them out of Fairyland."

Maya was silent as the bickering died down. She studied Kira. Of all of them, Kira had fallen into a thoughtful silence. She glanced to the others. Taylor looked torn between having some affection for Arval and hitting him with the nearest blunt object. Kelsey was staring at the rubbings and then Arval's complicated translation underneath them. His handwriting was beautiful—an old calligraphy, flowery, yet upright and masculine at the same time. Dustin was staring at Arval with a mixture of awe and fear on his face.

"Moonlight and starlight," Kira whispered. "We have to search the rest of the ruins by night. The rest of it will only reveal itself after dark."

"It appears that my job here is done," Arval said, pushing himself up from the picnic table. He gathered his books and made them disappear with a wave of his hand. He then cleared up the rest of the mess on the table save of a pile of neatly rolled rubbings. "These I entrust to you," he said to them.

With a short bow, the fairy known as Arval Parrot disappeared.

Dustin looked after him. "He sure didn't stick around long."

Kira looked lost in thought. She absently poked Dustin in the side. "Read the whole thing out loud."

"Huh?"

"Read it!"

Dustin picked up the scrap of paper Arval had written the translated riddle on. He looked around before reading it. "In a place that's high but low, where no mortal dare to go. Here the ancient bonds employ, but fear of closed spaces will destroy. Moonlight and starlight will lead thy way. Look for the password by the bay. Follow the old demon's laugh and there you shall find your path."

"We know to start at the old throne," Kira muttered. "What's the next line?"

"Here the ancient bonds employ, but fear of closed spaces will destroy."

"Ancient bonds?" Kelsey asked.

"Bonds," Kira replied. "Bonds between us. We have to have one of the four ancient bonds connecting us or we won't find the next step."

"What are they?" Kelsey continued.

"Blood, passion, love and friendship," Maya whispered. Those were the ancient bonds her people had always spoken of and honored. Love was the highest of the four. Blood and passion were the lowest, both being things that one could not control or could be forced. Friendship was second only to love. Maya had no worries about that—they were all protected by friendship, but was the bond of friendship amongst themselves? For herself, Kelsey, Kira and Dustin, she would have said yes, but for Taylor… who knew? She smiled to herself, knowing what Taylor's reaction would be if someone suggested she sleep with Dustin so they knew she was protected by one of the bonds.

"That next part sounds like if we have claustrophobia, we're screwed," Dustin commented.

Kira nodded. "Moonlight and starlight will lead thy way. Look for the password by the bay." She paused, twisting a lock of her dark blonde hair around her index finger. "That sounds like we need to wait until after dark when the moon and stars are out. But the bay… maybe there's an underground stream we follow or something?"

"I think the rest will reveal itself tonight," Maya said softly.

* * *

The Magna Defender had long sought revenge against Scorpius for taking the life of his son. It had been an all-consuming fire that burned within him constantly. It had been the very fire that drove him to take Mike Corbett's body so he could continue with his quest for revenge. But that single man's goodness had driven him also… it had given him the courage and strength to let go of a smoldering hate and give a young man back his brother and a group of young people their friend. Now, reunited with his son and serving on the Council of Light, he had found another purpose besides revenge.

He stared into the water basin. Well, to the untrained eye, it appeared nothing more than a water basin, filled with water. To members of the spirit realm, it was a window, a window into the mortal realm. These windows could be enlarged or decreased. They could be drawn upon to focus energy on a single area. This window was focused on the ruins of the old demon temple in Mariner Bay.

Zordon had given him this task, because he had been so used to seeing through Scorpius' cloaking devices in life and was familiar with the techniques used to cloak an area from mortals. The ninjas practiced these arts in the mortal realm. Villains such as Scorpius had been, used them to hide from the prying eyes of Power Rangers and other undesirable people thoroughly steeped in goodness.

He watched as Arval appeared to the five. Arval and the youngest female copied the markings on the old altar and markings that appeared in other places around the ruins. Then they left. That was when he had begun his probe. He gently extended his own mind, seeking out each part of the ruins and looking for abnormalities, or more, places that seemed too normal. Each stone in those ruins should have some dark taint from being constructed and dwelt in by demons. It was the parts of the ruins that felt normal, like the normal blend of good and evil touched it, that were suspect.

"Father?"

Looking up, he smiled as Zinka entered the room, holding his sword. "Arval's mission was successful then?"

Zinka nodded and handed him his sword. "He's good at that sort of thing." His son paused and looked at the basin. "Boric should make him a linguist."

"He would be good at that."

"Are you looking for cloaking devices?"

"Yes."

"Can I help?"

The Magna Defender gave his son an amused glance. "You know much about dark cloaking spells?"

"Of course, how else was I able to find you?"

His son did have a point. When he had been stuck in that abyss, barely alive, he had used many cloaking spells to hide himself from Scorpius. He had used those same cloaking spells to hide himself from the rangers and Scorpius when he came out of the abyss. Zinka had managed to find him many times and impart some wisdom that only one who died as a child could. It was Zinka that ultimately let him pass on and allow Mike life once more.

The Magna Defender moved to one side of the basin so that Zinka could join him there and look into it as well. He narrowed the focus of the window to just the throne room. There… something around the throne was being cloaked. The stones underneath it felt entirely too clean to have been part of a demon temple.

"There's a mirror," Zinka whispered.

He nodded. It was a mirror—a mirror embedded into the stone floor that would reflect moonlight and starlight if it were a clear night. Someone had taken great pains to cloak that mirror so that no one would find it. Hidden, the mirror's secrets remained hidden as well. He gently probed the cloak and was relieved to find it was a simple cloaking spell. It was easy to lift, unlike some of the more complicated ones he had been expecting. It made him wonder what Vypra hoped to gain by shoddy cloaking spells. He lifted the spell, using his mental strength to counteract the physical spell that had been performed.

"There's more," Zinka said. "All of the stones that are mirrors have been cloaked."

"You're right." He paused. "Are they the same spell?"

Zinka paused. "Yes. She must have been counting on someone not finding all of the spells."

The Magna Defender smiled again. His son had grown wise and clever as he spent time in the spirit realm, learning from Zordon and great leaders endowed with a power that matched their own.

Soon enough, they had lifted all of the simple cloaking spells that had been cast over the mirror-stones. "You have learned about subtle strategy, Zinka," he said softly.

Zinka shrugged his small shoulders. "She had probably planned on someone finding one of the spells, lifting it and assuming she was inept, not thinking that there could be more than just that one." He paused. "It's rather ingenious."

"Well, let us hope that we have aided the five in their quest."

"I don't think they could have solved the riddle if the cloaks remained in place."

He didn't reply, just held out a hand for his son. Zinka took his hand and they remained silent as they walked from the chamber to seek out Zordon and report the news. This was how it had always been between himself and his son—they did not need idle words to fill the golden void that was silence. He had never needed words to communicate with his son. It was part of the reason Zinka's final cry of 'Father!' that ended his time amongst the living had cut to his very soul. Scorpius had tricked him and destroyed his son in the process.

He thought to Mike Corbett and his sacrifice of his powers to save his friends. It was something that he, himself, would not have done until Zinka showed him the way.

It was a lesson he hoped that others would learn in a more timely fashion that he had.

* * *

Kelsey sighed and stared at the dying fire. The rest of the afternoon and the evening had been quite an… experience, She absently fiddled with the band on her morpher. Some people just flat out weren't getting it, for lack of a better term. They were supposed to work together—they were supposed to be a team. Trini had even gone so far as to assign them roles in this new team, since they couldn't all take on the traditional yellow ranger role. _A team is only a strong as its weakest link_. Those were words she had told herself and others had told her. When she had been an active ranger, she had fought against being the weakest. The solution was not to have any weak links on a team…

Well, they didn't have any weak links in the traditional sense of the term. What they did have were people… a person… who didn't want to be a link at all. They had other members of their teams that they weren't crazy about at all times. Everyone had to deal with less than desirable people in day to day life. _Butthead 101_ as her mother used to call it. Maybe she wouldn't have chosen to work with this group had she had a choice, but none of them had a choice. They were here for a reason. They had been chosen.

She thought back to what had happened after the sun set. They had eaten dinner, before Maya pronounced the moon and stars high enough to continue their search. Not everyone was going to come, that much was clear from the tone that Kira used. And from what they had said the ancient bonds were, she knew that. Kira ended up taking only Dustin with her, for reasons that Kelsey could see only too clearly. She and Maya were better emotionally equipped to deal with Taylor if she went off on a rant or something. Dustin would not be able to handle someone like Taylor having any sort of fit or meltdown.

It had been kind of strange that Kira was confident of the friendship between herself and Dustin.

Well, they had gone to the temple ruins and came back, saying they had found the entrance to the underground tunnels and caverns. No one was going back to explore there tonight, but there would be plenty of time for that in the coming days. They also knew where to find it now, so they could find it in the daylight as well as after dark. Taylor had kind of clammed up after that, not speaking to anyone, just sitting at the picnic table and staring. Something had finally snapped in Taylor and no one knew what to expect next.

"Hey."

She snapped out her reverie to see Dustin standing before her, holding out a mug of hot chocolate.

"I didn't do anything to it. I promise."

Kelsey smiled at him and gestured for him to sit in the lawn chair next to her. He complied, holding his own mug. Dustin was adorable… not in the traditional way like a baby is adorable. He had a kind of wayward, happy-go-lucky look that seemed to reflect his true personality. Right now, his chocolate brown hair was curling wildly at the ends.

"Thanks," she replied. She gave him a sidelong glance. He seemed preoccupied. "You all right?"

"Yes. No. I don't know."

"Is it about Taylor?"

"She's mad at me, dude!" He paused. "And I don't know why!"

Kelsey snorted. "I think she's permanently mad at all of us."

"She's just so…"

"Not nice?" she offered.

"I wasn't going to put it that nicely." Dustin suddenly sat up straight in his lawn chair. "I've got this theory about people like her," he said, with more enthusiasm than necessary, but enthusiasm nonetheless. Kelsey smiled and inclined her head towards him to let him know that she was listening. "Something happened to them in the past. Someone hurt them." He paused. "That's why she's a bitch. She's doing it so she won't get close to anyone and won't be hurt again."

"You're into psychology?"

He shrugged. "I want to be a psychology major when I get the money together to go to college."

"You seem pretty good at reading people."

"Not as good as like… Maya," he replied.

"No one is as good as Maya."

They lapsed into a comfortable silence. Dustin might be the number one person on Taylor's hit list right now, but there was something endearing about him. He struck Kelsey as the kind of guy that all girls wanted as their best friend because he could just listen, he could just… be. He didn't try to be something he's not. He was better at showing his emotions than most guys Kelsey had met. He was just… Dustin. He managed to make most everyone around him smile and adopt his disposition. And he had probably just identified Taylor's underlying main problem when Taylor herself probably wasn't aware of it.

"Think we can find their lair?" she asked him, softly.

"Oh yeah. I mean finding the initial entrance was easy. All we have to do is follow the rest of that riddle to find the rest."

"Any idea what you'd be looking for?"

"No," he replied, but didn't sound particularly worried about it. "I'm sure that we'll be able to figure it out once we get down there." He turned towards her and frowned. "I told you I didn't do anything to that."

Kelsey looked down at the rapidly cooling mug of hot chocolate in her hands. "Sorry," she whispered. She took a sip tentatively. This was Dustin and, while his heart was in the right place, the end results weren't always the best. The hot chocolate was surprisingly sweet and even—not the lumpy hot drinks she had come to expect when camping. However, it wasn't too sweet. It was also richer than most hot chocolate she had in the past. "This is really good, Dustin," she said with a smile.

He ran his hand through his hair. "It's a secret recipe."

"Secret recipe?"

"Actually, I stole it from Cam when he came camping with us one time," he said very rapidly and turned the last phrase into a cough.

"I see," she replied, stifling her laughter. Dustin really was a piece of work.

"Come on," he said, his tone bordering whiney. "That was the only time during the tenure of our friendship that Cam has treated me like I'm smart enough to tie my shoes." He paused and looked at the dying fire, now just red-orange embers. "Of course, he was sort of… drunk." Kelsey gave him a sharp look and Dustin raised his free hand in surrender. "It was Hunter's fault!" he cried. "Not mine."

Kelsey smiled as Dustin launched into the story of that particular camping trip while they watched the rest of the embers die out and fade into darkness.

_ To Be Continued..._

* * *

**Author's Note:** I think I got back to everyone who reviewed chapter 11. I'm a terrible person and didn't get back to the people that reviewed chapter 10. Whoops... At any rate, the usual thanks to reviewers and lurkers. (And I know you lurkers are out there- I've caught you!) Everyone have a great week, leave me a comment and remember 'with coffee comes enlightenment.' Cheers-EK 


	13. Web of Dreams

**Disclaimer:** Still property of Disney.

**Warning: **I am fiddling with the timeline here. Just pretend that (as like all other incarnations), SPD takes place the year following Dino Thunder. I know that that is bad form, but I wanted to make sure all yellows get mentioned. It would be otherwise impossible to include everyone. Sorry to the people who already reviewed this chapter and commented on it! (I did forget this warning when I initially posted this chapter!)

**RESTLESS WARRIORS**

By Etcetera Kit

**Chapter Thirteen: Web of Dreams **

Kira traced the barely visible outline of the trapdoor. Well, trapdoor wasn't the correct term. It was more like a very archaic looking sewer cover. 'Teenaged Mutant Ninja Turtles, here I come,' she thought wryly. She located the buttons her and Dustin had found last night. Running her fingers over certain symbols, a grinding noise came and handles slowly raised up from the otherwise smooth surface of the stone. Kelsey was standing next to her, holding a backpack that contained flashlights, extra batteries and food among other things. Neither of them knew how long this was going to take. She would have brought the others, but that thing about the ancient bonds had her thinking and she didn't want them stuck in a maze or something like that because not all of them had the ancient bonds with the present company.

"Weird," Kelsey muttered, as they each grabbed one of the handles and hauled the heavy stone up and away. The Lightspeed Ranger pulled a flashlight out of the backpack, clicked it on and shone it down into the blackness of that hole.

"At least there's a ladder," Kira said.

Kelsey nodded in agreement and turned off the flashlight. She handed Kira the flashlight and the backpack, before lowering herself onto the ladder. In a moment, she heard the 'thud' of Kelsey landing on her feet. She handed the flashlight down.

"See anything?"

"It looks like a tunnel," came the reply.

Kira shook her head. She handed the backpack down to Kelsey and then lowered herself down the ladder. The dim light of the flashlight did indeed reveal a tunnel—and it went in both directions, like they were in the middle of it.

"Great, which way?" she muttered.

"Well," Kelsey started. "We've got everything except the last two lines."

Kira nodded and pulled a folded piece of paper out of her jacket pocket. Kelsey shone the flashlight on it. _Follow the old demon's laugh and there you shall find your path._ Everything else had added up to this tunnel. Now where to go?

"We could always just pick a direction," Kelsey suggested.

She shook her head. The riddles had led them in the correct direction so far. It had to tell them where to go next. Something on the wall caught her eye. Grabbing the flashlight from Kelsey, she shone it on the wall. There, clear as day, was a carving of a demon. It had its head thrown back in fiendish laughter and one of its outstretched arms pointed to the right.

She and Kelsey exchanged a glance. "Follow the old demon's laugh," Kira whispered.

"Let's go," Kelsey said.

They started down the tunnel. It reminded Kira of a large sewage pipe. And it seemed to go on for miles. Soon, the shaft of light from the porthole was distant and their flashlight did little to penetrate the blackness ahead.

Without warning, a torch ignited on its own.

They both jumped. Kira gasped. "That is just creepy," she muttered. Kelsey nodded in agreement as they continued to walk. Just as the first torch came on by itself, the next torches came on as well. Soon, they reached a section where the torches were already lit.

"I'd say someone is living here," Kelsey whispered.

Kira nodded. Ahead of them, a section of the tunnel seemed to open up into a balcony that overlooked something. Strangely, the tunnel they were in was devoid of life other than the torches. Kelsey motioned to her to get down and they crawled to the balcony. Kira slowly raised her head and peeked over the ledge.

The balcony looked down onto a huge underground temple complete with the altar and other necessities that made a temple. A man—no, fairy—that looked almost identical to Arval was standing at attention by a doorway. Two people were standing near the altar and arguing in loud voice. One of them was a man, tall and thin with slicked back blonde hair. The other had Asian features.

"Vypra," Kelsey hissed.

"I don't see a human here," Vypra was saying.

"How many times must I tell you that a human will be here?" The man sounded bored, although dangerous. Kira would not want to be the one on the receiving end of his anger or his boredom for that matter.

"If you are so intent on using that boy, then why haven't you set the bait yet?"

The man smiled. "I will lower the bait tomorrow morning. By night tomorrow, that boy will be in our lair and you can do all the damned prep work that you need to on him." He paused and began to stroke Vypra's arm with his long fingernails. "Imagine the residual power coming off of him, our plan will be sure to succeed if he is the one under the knife."

"A human sacrifice," Kira whispered. Kelsey shrugged, her blue eyes wide.

Vypra appeared to be hypnotized under the man's words. "A ninja," she said in a crooning tone. "He carries much power aside from his ranger powers."

Kira and Kelsey sank down to the cold stone floor and exchanged identical looks of horror. Who was Vypra planning on plotting with to get… "Dustin?" they both hissed at once.

"Who?" Kira whispered. "Who is she planning on betraying us?"

"Taylor," Kelsey responded flatly.

Kira peeked up over the ledge again. Vypra shook her head and appeared to snap out of whatever trance the other had put her in. "Jareth," she hissed. "We have to have a back-up plan. We cannot count on using that boy. It doesn't matter whether or not the human has been a ranger. We need someone and we need them soon!"

Vypra was standing over a table full of herbs. Kelsey eased the backpack off her back and pulled a digital camera out of the backpack. The camera actually belonged to Kelsey and had made its way into the backpack out of habit. She turned it on and peered over the ledge, zooming in on the table of herbs. The camera clicked and flashed.

The two demons snapped their heads in their direction.

"Shit," Kelsey muttered.

"What was that?" Vypra asked.

Jareth motioned to the fairy. "Owling," he snapped. "Get them."

Owling bowed and left through the doorway he had been guarding. Kira and Kelsey exchanged horrified glances before crawling as quickly as possible down the hallway before standing up and flat-out running. Distant footsteps could be heard behind them, but they kept going. Kira was almost afraid to turn around and see what was behind her. It seemed like an eternity before they saw a shaft of daylight and the ladder that had led them into this labyrinth to begin with.

Kira scrambled up the ladder with Kelsey on her heels. They hefted the cover back into place and Kira quickly depressed the button that hid the handles once more. They didn't stop running until they got back to the camp site.

"That was way too close," Kelsey panted as they came to a stop.

"Well, at least we know where they're hiding now."

* * *

Maya smiled to herself as Kira and Kelsey charged back into the campsite like the very apocalypse was on their heels. Dustin had been sitting at the table, doodling on a spare piece of paper that someone had brought. She had been glancing periodically at his drawings—they weren't too bad, all things considered. It wasn't like she had been paying much attention—she had been weaving ribbons into a piece of cardboard for a web of dreams she had been creating. The pair had spent a few seconds talking before they came over to the picnic table and pulled some bottles of water out of the cooler. 

"Find anything?" she asked pleasantly.

"Hell, yeah," Kira replied. "Try their hiding spot plus their altar." She paused and sucked in a deep breath. "Plus Kelsey got a picture of all the herbs they were using."

Kelsey rummaged through her backpack for a moment before pulling out her digital camera. She turned it on and looked at the picture, before handing it to Maya. "Do you recognize any of these herbs?"

She studied the picture. It was surprisingly clear, considering what the pair of them had to go through to get it. She did indeed recognize most of the herbs, but had never before heard of them being used in that particular combination. Together, those herbs put an ominous ring in her mind. Their combination was evil. She looked up to Kelsey and Kira. "We might be able to use this to our advantage."

"Good," Kira said.

"We also found Owling," Kelsey added.

"That fairy dude's brother?" Dustin asked.

"If that guy wasn't his brother, then I'm Mickey Mouse," Kira replied.

"That complicates things," Maya muttered. "We should contact Trini in a few nights, just to see if the fairies want something particular done about that."

The others nodded their consent, but didn't reply. She began to weave a thread clockwise around the five 'wheel spokes' she had created. When that task was done, she tied a small trinket to each of the spokes.

"What are you doing?" Kelsey asked.

"It's a web of dreams," she replied. "Should our blood be spilt, the other yellow rangers will come to our aide."

No one looked like that idea had crossed his or her mind.

"What are the trinkets for?" Dustin asked.

"Each represents the other five yellow rangers," she said. She gently touched a small bear charm. "This one is for Aisha Campbell, the Yellow Ninjetti Ranger." Her brown eyes went to a yellow plastic number '2'. "This is for Tanya Sloane, Zeo Ranger 2." The next charm was a small yellow car with a small planet tied to it. "Ashley Hammond," she continued. "The Yellow Space Ranger." The next charm was a small clock. "Katie Walker, the Yellow Time Force Ranger." The final charm was a small police badge with a space ship tied to it. "Elizabeth Delgado, the Yellow Space Patrol Delta Ranger."

"How does it protect us?" Kira whispered.

"We need Taylor to resurface, but each of us will contribute a drop of blood on the very center of the web. It will be activated if our blood is spilt."

"I'll just give you a whole gallon," came a sarcastic voice from behind her.

Maya turned around and mustered up her best smile for Taylor. "Hi Taylor," she said. "We need to complete this web of dreams."

"What?"

Inwardly sighing, she launched into the entire tale about the web, what the trinkets stood for and how it would summon reinforcements if one of them should start bleeding profusely. Taylor did not look happy, but consented to contributing a drop of blood along with the others. She smiled as each gave a drop of blood at the center of the web. Finally, she cut her own finger and added her blood to the web.

"Our dreams will be sweet," she intoned. "And as we sleep, the powers of blessing will find us." She paused. "If our rest should be disturbed by the shedding of blood, call upon the others woven into this web, the others that share our legacy and our color. In slumber's arms, all shall fall behind us as they come to our aide. So may this be."

The cardboard web glowed with a yellow aura before settling back down to its previous state.

"Let us hope no one awakens the web," she whispered.

* * *

Vypra glared at Jareth. He was a trusting fool and now someone had found their lair. His damn demons had not caught them and Owling, who he was forever bragging about, had come back with nothing but bumbling apologies. She was working with complete and utter idiots! Now she understood why Queen Banshera would get annoyed with them day after day—they had managed to botch things pretty well most of the time. Between her being new at this and the Queen's stupid son and bogus bargains with large insects… nothing ever tended to go their way for very long. 

"Nothing will stop us," he said in his smooth, oily voice. He was straightening the cuffs on his shirt—they were white with ruffles and peeks out underneath his skintight leather jacket. She might have taken a moment to appreciate how good he looked if she wasn't so angry with him all the time.

"Nothing?" she screeched, her temper and her emotions getting the better of her. Humans might think that demons didn't have emotions. How wrong they were. "One of those damn humans has found us!"

"Now, now," he replied, moving from his cuffs to smooth back his hair that was already perfectly in place. She wanted to scream and then bash her head against something. Sometimes she wished she could die like the humans could. "We don't know that it was one of them. It could have been a human lost on a camping trip."

"No one could have found this place without the help of someone in the spirit realm and they are the only ones we know with the spirit realm on their side!" That was true. Someone had broken through her cloaking spell on the mirrors in order to find this place, plus they had to have the ancient bonds in place. The spells could only be broken by someone in the spirit realm or a fairy and the humans with the ancient bonds… well, she could only think of one group that fit that description.

"I'll triple the guard," he said.

Was he serious? "Not good enough." She paused. "We need to attack. If we eliminate those humans, we'll have nothing more to fear." Aside from the combined wrath of all in the spirit realm, who would come down in arms if something happened to those rangers. They would ignore the scroll and do things their way. Hopefully… she didn't want to think about that. Most of the spirit realm was still unaware of what they were doing and where they were.

"Attack five insignificant humans? Really Vypra, have you no sense of how to be sporting. If they come here again, Owling and my goblins will eliminate him." He was comparing eliminating rangers to… hunting like a proper English gentleman? She would have laughed had she not noticed the evil glint in his eyes.

"Let's hope they do," she snapped, settling for that response.

"And I'll lower the bait tomorrow. The Wild Force Ranger should be so annoyed with the others by that time that she'll take any excuse to get rid of one of them." Or the plan would backfire and the Wild Force Ranger would go kung-fu on him for even suggesting that she would betray a teammate and hand him over to demons to be mutilated and eventually killed.

Vypra only glared.

"You can't do this without me," he reminded her. He turned and stalked out of the temple with Owling and some of his demons on his tail. Yes, he never went anywhere without his entourage. He was just like that fool of a fairy king. Something about being surrounded by minions made them feel powerful.

Vypra felt a sinking sensation. She looked at her amulet. It had been constantly warm for days now. Lucivar must really want to talk to her. Should be assuage her arrogant brother's fears and tell him that she was being a good little demon? No. She needed to steer clear of Lucivar because he probably had half the spirit realm behind him by now.

She should not have brought Jareth into this. He would be the downfall of their plan with his arrogance.

* * *

Dustin carefully cut the thin leather cording to the exact lengths that she had requested. Maya had asked him to take her out earlier that day, when Kira and Kelsey had gone to investigate that trapdoor and Taylor had been off in one of her snits. He had obliged her and his car actually worked the entire time they were out. First she had gone to a craft store where she bought ribbons, cardboard, trinkets… all in all, a strange assortment of things. And Dustin said a silent thank-you to Sensei for providing them with that school credit card. If Sensei asked, he could explain all the charges at seemingly strange stores. Maya said they needed these things and, in the few days he had known her, he had learned not to question Maya. 

Maya was carefully crushing a mixture of herbs that smelt vaguely like mint. He wasn't about to ask what was in that concoction—he had just driven her to a health food store that sold that junk. Then they went on a wild goose chase looking for a store that sold the kinds of oil and incense Maya was looking for. He didn't know Mariner Bay, but after asking around at a few gas stations, they found a hole-in-the-wall occult store that had what Maya was looking for.

She had cut five circles from some red flannel. The flannel was plaid and had yellow stripes running through it. He wondered if that had been done on purpose or if that had just been the fabric that had been in their budget of next to nothing. He watched as she carefully divided the strange herb mixture into the center of each circle. He knew some of the stuff that was in that mixture—some shredded corn husks and bits of white feathers.

Okay, now he felt like asking questions.

"All right, what are those things?"

Maya looked up, nonplussed by his question. "Protection amulets," she replied like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Oh." He was still confused. "How are those things going to protect us?"

"Dustin," she replied. "You know that ninjas honor the old way simply because they have existed for thousands of years." She paused. "Time is a powerful thing."

"Yeah, but you're, like, not a ninja."

"My people believe the same thing. My people have made these amulets in pretty much the same manner for thousands of years and they have always brought protection to the wearers. Why should it be any different now?"

"I don't know."

She didn't reply, just began adding several drops of oil to the herb mixtures on each piece of flannel. He would really like to know how that… mess… protected anything. After she added the oil to each one, she tied each piece into a neat sack with some ribbon left over from that web of dreams. Then, she tied each one to one of the cords to make a necklace. He stared at them. She had made them… jewelry?

"Husk of corn, feather white," she whispered, holding all the amulets in her hands. "Holds the image on Hunter's Night. Angels called for protection. Safeguard spell with perfection. Blessed spirits surround in blue. Safe and sound Heaven's view. Husk of corn, feather white. Protect these people on Hunter's Night. So mote it be."

"Hunter's Night?" This was just getting creepy.

"The first full moon in November," she replied.

"Uh… it's not November."

"I know. This spell is traditionally performed then, but can be done at any time of the year if protection is needed." She separated one of the amulets from the others and handed it to him. Not knowing what else to do with it, he put it around his neck.

"How does this spell work?" he asked.

"It holds a brand of good. Something evil will be warded off long enough for someone else to come to your aid."

"Oh." He still didn't understand it.

"Just… have faith," she whispered before getting up and heading into the rest of their campsite, probably to give the amulets to the others.

He looked down at the amulet. Something radiated from it, but he could not identify it with words. It was more like a feeling… Maya's people had existed on Mirinoi long before Terra Venture ever landed there. It made him wonder how steeped in magic and mystery their culture really was, how much of this Maya took for granted while the rest of them were scratching their heads and wondering if she really believed this.

He glanced to the others. Kelsey and Kira were discussing various ways to infiltrate the temple and different strategies they could use. He also had a feeling that they were not telling him something, but he didn't know what it could even possibly be. Taylor was buried in a book, ignoring the world for all intents and purposes. She looked up from the book and her blue eyes burned with something… hate… for him?

Looking back down at the debris on the picnic table, he tried not to think of the fact that Taylor seemed to have a grudge against him. 

_To Be Continued..._

* * *

**Author's Note:** I know I promised to not do any more shout-outs at the end of chapters, but... (the ominous 'but)... the number of reviews from the last chapter completely blew me away! (In a good way!) And I have tons of homework this weekend (papers, readings, workshop stories etc. etc.) So this is actually more time efficient than looking up e-mail addresses and doing it that way. Before I go on to shout-outs, I just want to thank everyone who has reviewed recently! You guys are awesome! On to shout-outs: 

**Aria Fox**- I do know what (and where) Moira is. (Love those books!) Not too much more will be done on Taylor's background for a while yet, but I do understand what you're saying and it makes perfect sense. Glad you like Arval and thanks for reviewing!

**CamFan4Ever**- Thanks! Dusty? lol I think he has a point too, but it won't be expounded on for a while. Glad you like the little tidbit about getting Cam drunk.

**fenestrae**- Too bad on the coffee... As to the tale of Hunter getting Cam drunk, I can write that if there's any interest. As for Taylor, you'll be getting answers in the next few chapters. Thanks!

**Funky In Fishnet**- Thanks! I'm glad you're liking it!

**Hagar**- As far as I know, the Magna Defender himself (not Mike with those powers) does not have a name. I do own all of LG so I can go back and check, but I'm pretty sure he doesn't. Taylor will come around soon. I promise. :) Thanks for reviewing!

**MagCat**- Wow! A lot of individual reviews there- let me see if I can hit your major points. Taylor will eventually become part of the team, but that is coming in the next chapter or two. I figure Zordon can restore powers temporarily, even though he had nothing to do with those powers, because he's, well, Zordon. No one really knows the extent of his power. As for Tori/Dustin, just know that things are not as they always appear to be. (Including the next few chapters.) As for everything else, I think it's answered in the text somewhere. Thanks for reviewing!

**Samurai-Nashie**- Thanks! Sugar cookies... where? I LOVE sugar cookies!

**Satori Blackthorn**- Thanks! I commiserate with you about the net time- used to happen all the time when I was at home. I'm glad you like the story.

**Sryem**- I know you're only up to chapter 7, but hopefully you'll get to chapter 13 and see this. Thanks!

**Warstock-Leonhart**- Thanks! Coffee... well, I don't drink as much of it as I make it sound like. Same level of scholarship? Really? You're a sophomore in college too?

**Weesta**- I'm glad someone seems to reading closely. lol! As for the Taylor/Dustin thing, you shall see. Glad you like Arval! As for the bonds, blood and passion can be forced (the latter) or something one cannot control (the former). Friendship gives a choice as does love, so they tend to be stronger. Thanks for reviewing!


	14. Torn Apart

**Disclaimer:** I don't own them. I don't own _McDonald's_ either, although I hear it's only 3000 to get a _ Starbucks_ franchise...

**Warning: **I gave this in the last chapter, but it was not posted when the chapter was initially posted due to an error in my neural synapses. So here it is again. I am fudging the time line here. Just pretend that SPD happens the year following Dino Thunder (like things normally pan out). As to the fact that there are more SPD yellow rangers, the B squad (the squad Z is on) are the primary defenders of Earth. Since they do not have secret identities, it seems to me that the B squad would be common knowledge on Earth as would the identities of the rangers. To my mind, it would not be that difficult for Maya to obtain that particular piece of information and choose to include the current primary yellow ranger, but not others that are running around the SPD Academy.

**RESTLESS WARRIORS**

By Etcetera Kit

**Chapter Fourteen: Torn Apart **

Taylor frowned and slowed to a halt. She had kept up running while they had been out here, part of her reasoning being that they were probably headed for a battle and she needed to keep in shape. Well, she did have her powers again… but what good were ranger powers if one did not know how to use them? The morning air was cool and crisp, the sun high and warm. It was the perfect morning to be out running, which was more than she could say for the others.

Their exercise habits tended to be lacking, if nothing else. Although, Dustin did tend to do katas at sunset and, more recently, was teaching one of the water katas to Kelsey and a thunder one to Kira. What his reasoning for that was she had not been told. And she had no idea what Maya did only that she seemed to be constantly either wandering around the woods or making more of her insane amulets and webs. She glanced down to the protection amulet around her neck. Mostly, she wore it to appease Maya, but, the more she studied it, the more she felt something elusive surrounding it. Whatever this thing was, it was good.

Some braches off of the path began to rustle again. She turned and peered into the thick foliage. It was probably nothing—just a squirrel or a raccoon or something.

Then, without warning, a strange little creature tumbled down from a tree and landed on the ground right in front of her. Instinctively, she launched into a defensive stance. The thing looked like a muddy potato on legs. It climbed to its feet.

"Oi!" it called up into the tree. "I found her!"

Four more of the potatoes on legs fell down from the tree, forming a line in front of her and blocking the path. Each of them was wearing rusty armor and carrying what appeared to be butter knives. Great—some powerful demon sends the Mr. Potato Head squad to knock her off.

"Who are you?" she growled.

One of the potatoes squeaked. Their leader—the one who fell from the tree first—stepped forward and puffed out his little chest importantly. She fought the urge to roll her eyes. Who knew that walking potatoes were such… narcissists.

"We bring a message from King Jareth and Lord Owling." Owling… he was the missing brother of that snot Arval… and hadn't Kelsey and Kira said that Jareth was the one Vypra was working with? "He requests a trade."

"What sort of trade?" she asked warily, her fingers reaching into the pocket of her hooded sweatshirt for her morpher.

"He will call off the ceremony if you bring him one of the yellow rangers."

Taylor gave the potato a level look. That trade was completely ridiculous. What could Jareth gain from having one of them? Nothing. There was no way he would call off that ceremony for one of them. He would probably just nab one of them for whatever reason and then carry on like he had intended. Well… it was always good to know what your enemy was after. It couldn't hurt to see what—or who—these potatoes wanted.

"A yellow ranger?" she kept her tone neutral.

"The Wind Ranger," the potato answered.

All right. Time to play this fungus' game. "Why the Wind Ranger?" she responded, showing careful indifference, like she didn't know who the Wind Ranger was.

"He holds the most residual power," the potato continued. "He has his ranger powers along with his ninja powers. While his ranger powers can be taken, his ninja powers are a part of who he is. My master wants him for those powers."

"And what would your master do with him?"

The potato smiled gleefully. "Kill him… eventually."

"Why should I agree to a bargain like that?"

"He'll call off the ceremony. You won't have to worry about it anymore." The potato rubbed his stubby hands together. "You must admit, it's a fair trade."

"It's not fair," she snapped. "It favors me."

"Bring the Wind Ranger here at sunset."

The potato squad disappeared with a faint pop and wisps of vapor. Taylor rolled here eyes. What the hell did these potatoes take her for? She didn't for a minute believe that Jareth would call off the ceremony just because she managed to get Dustin to trust her enough to come with her. And there was no way that the potato team could subdue him enough to take him anywhere that he didn't want to go. He did have that interesting trick of disappearing into the earth… she shook her head. This was crazy.

Turning around on the path, she headed back for their camp site. The peaceful jogging mood had been disrupted.

People were just getting up when she came upon their site. For the most part, the camp site was fairly neat. All the dishes were washed and put away. The food was stored in plastic boxes or coolers in the back of Kelsey's station wagon—more to prevent animal theft of the food than anything else. Their trash bags were on the hooks provided by the park. The inside of the girls' tent was as neat as it could be. Dustin's tent was surprisingly neater than theirs—probably because he didn't have anyone else in there with him. The debris from Maya's earlier art projects had been cleaned up and stored.

Kelsey came out of their tent, tying her hair back into a ponytail. "Morning!" she said cheerfully in Taylor's direction. Perhaps that was what bothered her most about the others, their insistence on being cheerful. No one was happy all the time.

"Morning," she replied, just short of being rude.

The Lightspeed Ranger didn't seem to take any notice of her tone as she went to her car and began to pull out food for breakfast. Hopefully, it would be something other than Pop-Tarts and cereal. Dustin came out of his tent, raking his fingers through his hair, which seemed to always be in a perpetual state of chaos. She resisted the urge to snap at him. Her mind went back to the potato squad that wanted her to hand over Dustin… if that bargain hadn't obviously been fake, she might have been seriously tempted.

"Do you own a comb?" she growled as he passed her on his way to help Kelsey.

"Yeah," he replied nonchalantly. "But it's not much help out here."

"If your hair represents your intelligence then we're all in trouble," she muttered.

He whirled around. Shit. He wasn't supposed to be able to hear that. "What is that supposed to mean?" he countered hotly.

"You know what it means," she snapped.

"At least I'm not being a bitch around everything," he hissed. He looked so completely angry that Taylor was almost afraid of him. She hadn't know he had it in him to be this angry. But she wasn't going to back down, not now. If she wasn't going to hand him over to potatoes, then she was going to put him in his place.

"Maybe, if the rest of you would stop thinking this is a camping trip and start being serious, we could have stopped the ceremony already!"

"We are working on that!"

"I don't see any evidence of that."

"Well, you wouldn't, because everything we do is crap!"

"At least, I have a job."

That froze Dustin in his tracks. This was obviously a sore spot with him—being reminded that he didn't have a real job and had yet to go to college. It wasn't until that moment either that she realized Kelsey had stepped away from her car and was standing next to Dustin; her blue eyes giving Taylor a horrified look. She swung around. Kira and Maya had come out of the tent and were gaping at her.

Shit.

* * *

Kelsey stared at Taylor. They were all frustrated. They were all tired of being out here, of never being properly clean and of sustaining life functions on less-than appealing meals that could be cooked on a portable grill or over a fire. However, that did not give her an excuse to lash out at the first person she saw. No one was sure what to do, how to infiltrate the ceremony—her comment on them stopping it by now made no sense. She didn't have the faintest idea how to stop that thing. None of them did.

"That's enough," she said softly. She stepped forward, next to Dustin, and laid a hand on his arm, guiding him away from Taylor. Going to the back of her car, she pulled out the cooler and the box of food, setting them on the picnic table. "Dustin and I are going to town for some things."

Kira and Maya nodded. Taylor's face remained blank. "But I-" Dustin started.

"Get in the car," she countered. He didn't look good—his face was pale with slight pink smudges on his cheekbones. His eyes were bright with unshed tears. If he was going to have a meltdown, she didn't want it to be in front of everyone. _He_ probably didn't want it to be in front of everyone.

Dustin got in the car without further protest. She got behind the wheel, started the dormant engine and took off in the familiar direction of downtown Mariner Bay. She wasn't entirely sure where they were going, but it was as far away from that camp site and Taylor as humanly possible. Dustin was silent as they drove towards town. She gave him a worried sidelong glance. He was gazing out the window and his cheeks were damp.

Kelsey inwardly swore. She knew that this was coming, although she had expected it sooner than this. They had two weeks left before that ceremony and every plan they had come up with seemed more and more unlikely. They didn't have the manpower to storm the temple and stop the ceremony, unless they asked the ninjas for help. However, no one wanted to endanger them unless it was a last resort. Someone had suggested switching out the herbs, but no one knew how to get in there to do it or where Vypra might keep those things when she wasn't in the main room of the underground temple. Dustin had actually suggested they do some research on how to bind a demon to them or banish it back into the spirit realm. That had seemed like a good idea until a book from an occult shop and the occult shop owner told them that they had to be guardians to do that. None of them were.

Everything came back to the simple siege plan. But even with their powers, there was no telling when the battle would weaken someone and they would power down. It was too risky, as was everything else. They needed help and a leader with better interpersonal skills. Maya might be able to weave spells and make protection amulets, but she was still human just like the rest of them. Hell, she was on her own plane of existence half the time.

"You all right?" she ventured as she pulled the car into a parking space at the local McDonald's.

He shook his head, looking more and more miserable.

"Want to talk about it?" she asked.

Dustin half-turned to her, wiping his eyes. "I don't understand why she hates me."

"She doesn't hate you."

"Yes she does. She glares at me and yells at me." He paused. "I don't know why she does it either. I mean I've treated her the same way I've treated you guys or I've tried to." He looked so confused and in so much pain. Kelsey felt sorry for him. Once more, she truly wondered what else was going on in his life besides the prospect of being evicted from his apartment and losing his job. Didn't he have a family he could go to?

"Dustin, she does that to all of us. She just targets you more because she feels like she'll get a response from you. She sees you as the weakest link."

"I'm the weakest link?" he asked in a small voice.

"I don't think you're the weakest link," she reassured him. "If anything, Taylor's being the weakest link right now with her inability to work with any of us."

He let out a shaky breath. "I'm tired of her bringing up my personal life all the time."

"It's just bait. Don't let it get to you."

"Yeah, but I don't remind her about her job all the time." He paused. "What is her job anyways?"

Kelsey shrugged. "She was in the Air Force, although I doubt that is the case anymore since she's taking an unexplained leave of absence."

"You can't tell me she's never worked at a fast food joint or something before."

She grinned. "I used to work at Sonic."

Dustin turned completely towards her, an interested grin on his face. "Really? Was it because you got to roller-skate?"

"Partially. I just liked having a job where I could be up and moving and outside most of the time." She paused. "But I also had a really cool boss."

"I worked at Kroger's before I worked at Storm Chargers."

"Were you a cashier?"

"Sacker and part-time cart boy."

Kelsey smiled. "Come on," she said, opening her door. "I'll buy you breakfast." Dustin grinned and got out of the car. "Don't let Taylor bother you. Just ignore her."

He let out a long breath. "I'll try. She just bugs me."

'She bugs all of us,' Kelsey inwardly seconded. They walked into the McDonald's and people gave them wide berth, probably because they smelt like they'd be out camping and only saw the need to shower once every third or fourth day. They got their food and picked a table near the back of the restaurant in a corner. Kelsey stared as Dustin just drank his coffee black.

"No wonder you're crabby in the mornings," she said as she sipped her orange juice. "We don't have any coffee."

He shrugged. "Years of early Motocross races." He paused and looked thoughtful. "Maybe that's why Taylor's such a bitch in the mornings. She doesn't have her coffee."

Kelsey laughed and they kept up a companionable banter throughout breakfast. She had to admit, she really liked Dustin. He was a neat guy, who seemed like he rarely had an opportunity to deal with people that were interested in the real him. She would have liked to meet him under different circumstances, when she could watch movies or read comic books with him.

"You know," he said as they were finishing eating. "I'd like to have my own comic book store one day. I think that would be cool."

She smiled. Hopefully, he would have his own comic book store some day.

* * *

Maya stared at Taylor as Kelsey pulled her car away from the campsite with Dustin loaded inside. She could not believe the exchange she had just heard. She had believed many different things about Taylor, but had also believed she could overcome them in order to work with them. She was wrong. Taylor hadn't been able to change, hadn't been able to put aside her ideal image of a team, hadn't been able to refrain from being a dictator. She had hoped and she had prayed that this work out, that it wouldn't come to this.

Taylor gave her and Kira a level look.

Kira looked livid. She had low tolerance for Taylor as is, but with this added fuel for the fire, she was not happy to say the least. They were all tired and they were all out of ideas. She thought briefly to the fact that Dustin had started teaching ninja katas to Kelsey and Kira—for her, that was teamwork and unity. Taylor had not offered anything of that sort to them and she had to know something from being in the Air Force for so long.

"What the hell was that?" Kira snapped.

Taylor glared at her, thin-lipped. "Taylor," Maya said. "We can't work together if you're going to pick arguments like that."

"Pick arguments?" the Wild Force Ranger spat. "Maybe if everyone around here would be more willing to work and less willing to sit around, we wouldn't be having this conversation!"

"Oh and you have an idea?" Kira retorted. "If you know how to stop this ceremony without risking all our lives in the process, then do share it with the group!"

"We've gone over the possibilities," Maya added softly. "Unless we decide to endanger the ninjas, we can't take action yet."

"But I suppose you don't care about them," Kira continued. "They're just fallen soldiers in your cause!"

"I have never viewed my troops like that," she replied in a deadly soft voice. Venom dripped from her words. "You would do best to not make accusations that you can't prove."

"Why Dustin?" Maya asked, wanting to know the cause of this.

"He's a weak link."

"_He's_ a weak link?" Kira echoed incredulously. "If anyone is a weak link right now, it's you! You're the one that can't work with the rest of us!"

Taylor suddenly looked tired and defeated. "I can't do this," she said softly, some of the edge off her words. "I can't be in charge of you guys. No one trusts me."

"Whose fault is that?" Kira asked.

"I didn't ask to be in charge!" Taylor snapped back. "I didn't even ask to come on this goddamned mission! I lost my job over this!" She suddenly closed her mouth, like she had said something that she shouldn't have.

Maya frowned. Taylor had lost her job? She hadn't seemed particularly worried or broken up about something when they came here. "You lost your job?" she asked.

Taylor glared at her. "Yes. I lost my job. I got a dishonorable discharge from the Air Force. Are all of you happy?"

"That's terrible," Maya whispered. She might not like Taylor, but that was not a good thing to have on anyone's job record. She knew enough from Mike, who had been in the military, that that was never a good thing. Plus, the same thing could happen to GSA recruits and officers if they just left or went on extended leaves of absence without a reason.

"Yeah well, I have another job so don't start crying about it."

"Another job?" Maya was really confused now.

"Eric offered me a job with the Silver Guardians and I'm starting as soon as this madness ends."

"I thought you hated Eric," Kira commented.

"Better working for Eric than being unemployed," was the reply.

Kira gaped at her. "You like him!" she said.

"No," Taylor snapped. "And I am not talking about this, because you don't need to know anything about my personal life."

Maya sighed. "That's where you're wrong, Taylor. We can't work together if we treat this like some kind of sterile mission with strangers. Nothing will be accomplished if we don't get to know each other and eventually become friends."

"That wasn't in the job description."

"There wasn't a job description," Kira reminded her.

"Taylor," Maya said. "Dustin is as important to this team as everyone else. We cannot complete this mission without him."

"What should I do?" Taylor asked softly. She looked lost and confused as her façade of power and aloofness melted away.

"Apologize to him," she replied. "He's not the type of person to hold grudges."

"Apologize?"

"Yeah," Kira added. "Say you're sorry and mean it. Talk to him about comic books and part time jobs in high school—things he knows."

The ghost of a smile tugged on Taylor's lips. "I did used to read comic books, mostly because my mother had forbidden me." She paused. "And I had some horrific part time jobs in high school."

Maya smiled. "See? You can relate to him, if you just try."

"You guys sound like the Care Bears."

"We are," Kira said. "I'm Funshine and Maya's Tenderheart and Dustin is Good Luck Bear and Kelsey is Champ Bear."

"Who am I?"

"Grumpy Bear." Maya fought back a laugh while Taylor pinned Kira with her best glare. "It's a compliment," Kira defended herself. "Grumpy was the only bear with any sense."

"I am the only one here with any sense," Taylor agreed.

Maya did laugh this time. The ice had been broken and, hopefully, it would melt and they would be able to get along.

_ To Be Continued..._


	15. Heart Song

**Disclaimer:** Belongs to someone other than me.

**RESTLESS WARRIORS**

By Etcetera Kit

**Chapter Fifteen: Heart Song **

Kelsey and Dustin got back from town in a more timely fashion that she would have expected them to. Taylor hated to admit it, but Kelsey was probably had her head screwed on straightest, compared to the rest of them. Why did she always resort to being a bitch? Not because she had been in the Air Force or because it was a defense mechanism… well, it was a defense mechanism that had started with her dysfunctional family. Her parents had stayed in their bitter marriage for far too long. When she was seven, she had wished that her parents would resolve their differences. The solution, to her small mind, had not been their eventual divorce.

Well, her defense mechanism, not letting people get close to her because they would ultimately hurt her, had extended from her family to everyone. She watched as Kelsey talked to Kira and Maya about something and Dustin sat down at the picnic table with a worn book that looked like it had spent a lot of time in his car, if the discoloration on the cover was anything to go by. Maya purposely walked by and nudged her. She glared back. For someone who was supposed to be so in tune with nature, she wasn't terribly inconspicuous.

Sighing, she stood up and walked over to Dustin at the picnic table.

"What are you reading?" she asked, fishing for a way to break the ice.

He glanced up, his brown eyes wary. "The Hobbit," he answered finally.

"Lord of the Rings fan?"

"The movies, not the books. The Hobbit is better than those books."

She was inclined to agree with him. She hadn't been able to get into any other Tolkien books besides the Hobbit. She remembered being in fifth grade and reading the Hobbit aloud with her younger sister.

"Look," she started, feeling awkward. Hell, she didn't apologize. "Some of the stuff earlier… I didn't mean that you guys weren't committed."

"Could have fooled me," he muttered.

"I'm sorry for being such a complete bitch," she said flatly, resisting the urge to roll her eyes and beat Dustin severely about the head and shoulders.

"Are you?"

She frowned at the question. It was clear what he was asking. She thought back briefly to her ranger days. She had treated the other Wild Force Rangers the same way in the beginning, but then she had begun to thaw out, accept them as people. The same thing should apply here… "I don't know," she replied. "You guys are irritating."

"No we're not," Dustin said.

"Let me finish," she snapped. "I didn't want to work with the other Wild Force Rangers either, but I knew I had to. I guess this is the same thing. I can't be in denial anymore. We have to work together or nothing will get done." She paused. "I don't want to be blinked out of existence by two psycho demons."

"I accept."

"What?"

"I accept your apology." He turned his full attention back to reading the book, although his shoulders were shaking from silent laughter.

"Something funny?"

"No." Dustin looked up at her. "Kelsey and me are going back into town later today. We were going to see if the rest of you guys wanted to come."

"Sure." She looked at her watch. They still had a couple hours until sunset when she had to go drop-kick some Mr. Potato Heads through the goal posts of life. Kelsey, Kira and Maya wandered over to the picnic table. She looked around. It was time that all of them shared information. She said as much. Kelsey nodded.

"Yeah. Me and Kira overheard Jareth talking about how he was going to use you to kidnap Dustin as the human sacrifice."

"Whoa," Dustin said. "No one said that those demons wanted me as the sacrifice." He paled visibly and began to look ill. Kira turned to him.

"Breath," the Dino Ranger ordered.

"Do you need a paper bag or a trash can or something?" Kelsey asked him.

Dustin shook his head, but still didn't look well.

"It's not going to work," Taylor assured him. "He sent his stupidest demons because the bargain was obviously a lie."

"When did they approach you?"

"This morning when I was running." She paused, taking in the four expectant faces. "They said that if I handed Dustin over to them at sunset tonight, Jareth would call off the ceremony."

"Did they say anything else?" Kelsey asked.

"Yeah. I asked them what they would do with Dustin."

"And?"

"They said Jareth would kill him."

"Shit," Kira commented. That put everything succinctly.

"We're contacting Trini tonight," Maya said, leaving no room for argument. "We need to know what the fairies want done about Owling and we need to tell them what we've found." She paused. "We need advice."

"I hear that," Kira muttered.

"So what are we doing today?" Dustin asked. He still looked pale and was looking nervously around, like he didn't want to be here. Taylor didn't blame him. If someone had been after her, looking to kill her, she'd be on edge too.

"No sense in hanging around here," Kelsey said. "We can go hang out at the shopping center downtown. There're all kinds of stuff plus a Dairy Queen and a pizza place. We can entertain ourselves until dark."

Everyone agreed. There was a short debate about which car to take. They ended up deciding on Taylor's rental car since it was the most reliable out of the car choices. She loaded four other un-bathed people with layers of residual dirt and drove towards the shopping center on Kelsey's directions. Kelsey had been right. This place had everything. They piled out of the car and agreed to meet for lunch at the pizza place in an hour.

"Dude, I'm so at the comic store," Dustin muttered.

"I'll go with you," Taylor said.

He stared at her in shock as the others took off towards a book store. "You like comic books?" he asked, incredulous.

She shrugged. "It's been a while. I used to read them to piss off my mother."

He didn't ask anymore questions until they were in the store. Taylor gravitated towards the Batman comics she had read as a high school student and new cadet in the Air Force. Dustin wandered towards her and peeked over her shoulder.

"Batman, dude? You've got to be kidding me!"

She glared at him in her peripheral vision. "And what do you recommend?"

"X-Men all the way!"

"Get real," she muttered, flipping through the Batman comic.

After a while, they had decided on which comics they wanted, paid for them and got to the pizza place early. They got a booth while waiting for the others. There was some debate about comic sharing and they both ended up sitting on the same side of the booth so that they could read the same comic at the same time.

"You guys are so cute!"

Taylor looked up and glared at Kira. They had been in the middle of the continuing adventures of Batman as he fought the Joker.

"It's a comic book thing, man!" Dustin said.

"You wouldn't understand," Taylor added.

"I don't think I want to," Kelsey said with a laugh.

They ordered their pizza and fell to a friendly banter over lunch. Taylor smiled to herself. Things really had worked out after all.

* * *

The fire crackled merrily. The night air was cool, but didn't have the usual breeze. Everything around them was still or as still as things around a camping site could be. Trailers were creaking and people were getting ready to turn in for the night. Most people did not prefer to stay up late when camping—people went to bed early and got up early, living by the daylight. That would have worked for Kira had they not kept calling on Trini at night or getting into arguments or making s'mores or doing various and sundry other things that kept them up half the night. Then no one could sleep and then everyone was cranky the next morning… no wonder they had all been ready to strangle someone or something. 

Kira smiled to herself as she watched Maya move around the fire. They were in their customary half-circle for calling on Trini. Their trip that afternoon had been amusing. No one had expected Taylor and Dustin to bond at all, let alone that fast after Taylor ripped into Dustin about pointless things. Comic books… well, she supposed that stranger things had brought people together. It was common ground that they could relate to each other on. Now, if they could each forge a bond like that with the other group members, this mission would be even easier and most of the problems would be eliminated.

She watched as Maya threw the normal dust on the fire. It flared and settled down. Kira had yet to find out what was in that bag.

"I call on the spirit of the Yellow Ranger that has gone beyond. I call on her for guidance in this moment of confusion." She took a small pocket knife from her belt and made a cut in her finger. A drop of blood fell onto the flames with a faint 'hiss.'

Tiny blue lights rose from the fire and formed into a shape on the opposite side of the fire from where they were. "A wish made with blood is an offering to those who have gone beyond," Trini said as she materialized. "Is everything all right?" she asked them in general, a concerned look floating over her features.

"We have an idea of what we need to do," Taylor spoke up. "But no idea how to go about it without risking our lives or the lives of others."

Trini looked sad. "We all find ourselves causalities of wars we did not choose to fight sometime in our lives."

Kira frowned. She had a feeling that Trini was not exactly being literal with that statement. Things had happened to all of them because of circumstances outside their control, most notably their time as rangers. They learned to cope with it and move on or they didn't. Whichever the case, scars were left. Her thought to her own life and shivered… some thing had been within her control and others hadn't… it was the way of life.

"Even great warriors need respite," Trini continued. "Right now, all of you are restless warriors, waiting for a coming storm. You know that the storm is coming, but can do nothing to speed its progress or slow it down." She paused with a loving look for each of them. "You need a break. You need to refocus on what is important to you. Then come back to this task with a renewed vision."

Five faces looked stumped as they stared at Trini. She was telling them to take a break, to have some fun… or what?

"Dude, I'm kind of lost," Dustin said.

"Look within yourselves for your heart song. What is your heart telling you?"

Kira closed her eyes. Well, she had wanted to talk to Conner and Ethan since this mission had started, just for someone who knew her well. They could tell when she was having an off day or when she was in an exceptionally good mood. She did want to go talk to them or at least one of them. Ethan was pretty far from here, but Conner was within a decent driving distant and he lived in an apartment off campus—by himself. There wouldn't be any obnoxious roommates or apartment-mates to deal with like there might be with Ethan.

She opened her eyes. Trini was smiling.

"All of you have people who care about you deeply. Each of you is questioning your magic. Go to them and let them reassure you."

Again, Kira was sure Trini wasn't being literal. Magic, to her, was one's personality and the things that others loved in a body. It was so easy to slip into a pit of depression and let oneself think the worst. But when one was surrounded by people who cared deeply, it was almost impossible to feel that way.

"We found out where Owling is," Kelsey told Trini.

"The demons have him," Maya added.

The spirit nodded. "Then it is as we feared."

"Is there something we should do?" Kira asked.

Trini sighed. "There is little that can be done. Either a spell is over Owling or he is acting of his own free will. If it is the former, Lucivar will deal with it. If it is the latter, the Fairy Court will deal with it." She paused. "We do not know, however. Refrain from harming him."

"If he refrains from harming us," Taylor muttered.

"Jareth did send him and a bunch of demons after me and Kira," Kelsey commented.

"Leave the matter of Owling to the spirit world," Trini repeated.

The group nodded. Trini smiled and waved a goodbye, disappearing into a spiral of blue sparkles. Kira looked to the others. What to do now?

* * *

Lucivar slammed his fist into the cold, stone table, rage roaring through his being. He glanced to the girl standing before him with glazed gold eyes. Owling… under a spell? No… he had fought for so long against the fairy enslavement. Someone with the standing of Owling in the Fairy Court would not betray the fairies for a foolhardy plan. He would go to his brother and Arval would have gotten a copy of the scroll and he would have resisted, alerted someone in Fairyland who would have come directly to him. No… Trini was wrong. There was no room for 'either or' here. Owling was under a spell and Vypra and Jareth would pay for it. 

"Prince Lucivar," Trini was pleading. "We don't know that he's under a spell."

He looked up once more. Her brown eyes were pleading with him not to do something rash. "We do know," he said in a deadly quiet voice. "No fairy would betray the fairies for something ridiculous like that. A fairy would research, especially one like Byrrd."

"You can't do anything without the rest of us," she reminded him.

"This has nothing to do with their plot. This is under my jurisdiction as Prince of the Demons. Both of them will pay."

"That will be hard since they are in the mortal realm," a voice said. Lucivar cut his eyes to the door of the chamber and watched the Magna Defender strode in.

"It might be a challenge for you two to get into the mortal realm, but a demon has no problems with that," he hissed.

"It would interfere with the alliance and with the five," the Magna Defender said.

Damn. Lucivar had ruled in the spirit realm by a strict code of honor and conduct. Demons were a law unto themselves. They had a distinct version of what was right and what was wrong—it did not coincide with anyone else's, but it was theirs. Torment humans, cause wars and plagues, vaporize irksome spirits… but never enslave anyone. Demons served. Demons, who wanted to remain intact, followed the code. And demons honored alliances. If he went to the mortal realm and dealt with Vypra and Jareth… he couldn't. The alliance forbade it.

Someone had once said that the fluttering of a butterfly's wings could cause a typhoon around the world. If he took care of Vypra and Jareth, there was no telling what would happen. The task had been assigned to the five. It had to be obeyed.

He felt his rage rise to the killing edge. Going on a good old-fashioned slaughter in the mortal world would have let out some of that rage and energy, but he was too careful. He always satisfied his own bloodlust through a carefully planned war or massacre. Nothing was planned. Gone were the days when the demons could massacre and the mortals would claim it was the will of God or God, himself.

"It would," he agreed through clenched teeth.

"You won't do anything?" Trini asked.

"I won't do anything."

Trini and the Magna Defender left the chamber. Lucivar brought his fist down on the table and it cracked in two. Falcon flinched from where he stood by the door. He snarled and left the chamber. He was glad someone was still afraid of him and the power he wielded.

* * *

Maya smiled as people scrambled around the camp site. Flashlight beams shone erratically from tents, creating a lightshow that professionals could not have rivaled. Kira, Kelsey and Taylor were in the girls' tent, talking and arguing playfully. Dustin crawled out of his tent, carrying a backpack that looked like it was mostly empty. 

"Not taking much," she asked as he sat down at the picnic table with her.

He shrugged. "It's only overnight. Taylor did say she wanted us all to get back sometime tomorrow."

"Not going to mooch laundry off of someone?"

Dustin shook his head. "That's kind of rude." He paused. "The only person I do that to is my gramma, but that's because she said I could."

Maya smiled. "Really?"

"Yeah." He smiled to himself. "I start the laundry, but then she finishes it and folds it and irons it and feeds me while she's at it."

It was good to know that Dustin still had a family member he was close to. "Where are you going tonight?" she asked him. Maya was staying at the camp site, just because anyone she would want to talk to was on Mirinoi. And no one had the time or money to put her on a shuttle there. It was practical that she remain here and guard the camp site.

"Tori's," he replied. "She said she'd let me crash with her if I needed to." He shrugged. "And I want to talk to her about something."

Maya nodded. If she remembered correctly, Tori had been the Blue Wind Ranger and was the Water sensei at the academy. From what she had gleaned, Dustin, Shane and Tori were really close. It made sense that he was going to see a friend.

"Sounds like me," Kira said as she came out of the girls' tent with a backpack. Unlike Dustin's backpack, hers actually looked like it had something in it. Typical. Girls did tend to pack more than guys—some things transcended cultures and planets. She sat down at the table with them. "I'm going to LA to see Conner."

"Why Conner?" Dustin asked.

"He's closer than Ethan," Kira replied.

"Did everyone call and warn these people?" Kelsey called as she came out of the tent.

"Yes!" Dustin and Kira said in unison.

The Lightspeed Ranger stood next to the table, a small bag over her shoulder. "I called Ryan," Kelsey said. "He's going to let me stay with him the night."

"Ryan a little something special?" Kira asked, a grin on her face.

"No," Kelsey replied. "He's a friend." She paused. "And he was the first one I got a hold of. I guess the others like to go party on Friday night."

"Where are you off to, Taylor?" Kira asked Taylor as she finally came out of the tent.

"Silver Hills," she replied.

"What's in Silver Hills?" Dustin questioned.

"Eric."

Maya suppressed a laugh as that brought on a momentary silence, before people started laughing and making catcall noises. "You do like him!" Kira crowed.

Taylor glared at her and glanced at her watch. "We need to get going before we end up arriving in the middle of the night."

Soon enough, it had been verified that all the cars were going to start and run long enough to get the driver to their destination. Maya settled back into a lawn chair and studied the stars as blessed silence settled over the camp site. Things were written in the stars and while the stars here were different, they told their own unique story.

She just hoped that all of them would come back rejuvenated.

Meanwhile, she was going to enjoy the quiet. 

_To Be Continued..._

* * *

**Author's Note: **Normal thanks goes out to all reviewers- I apologize for not getting back to you. Things have been nuts around here and the work load this weekend is not pretty. But thanks for sticking with me-EK 


	16. Forever Intertwined

**Disclaimer:** Belongs to a subsidiary of Disney. Man, Disney sure does own everything these days...

**RESTLESS WARRIORS**

By Etcetera Kit

**Chapter Sixteen: Forever Intertwined **

Dustin let out a long breath as he guided his car along the familiar roads that led to Tori's apartment. He recalled being kids and riding their bikes over to one another's houses. Him, Tori and Shane, the Three Musketeers, they had done everything together for the longest time. Even when their interests began to diverge and follow different paths, they still supported one another, learned about their new interests, remained friends. He had taught Tori and Shane about Motocross while Shane had taught them skateboarding and Tori had tried to teach them how to surf. The surfing lessons had been laughable. Neither of them got to the point where they could even sit up on the board, let alone stand.

Third grade… they had known each other since they were eight years old. They had known each other for twelve years and been best friends for that same amount of time. He supposed it all went back to the third grade teacher that put the desks into clusters and their cluster just happened to be the three of them. The chemistry had been there from the start and their bond had been unbreakable. Sure, they had their spats, their arguments, but they always came back together, apologized and went on with life. Even when they became students at the Wind Ninja Academy and were sorted into different elements, nothing changed. The elements studied together more often than not then, since there was not a specific teacher for each element. It had brought them even closer to be students at a secret academy that they couldn't even tell their parents about.

Then they became rangers. For a while, it seemed like even that would not change their friendship. The normal routine was to give their parents the royal run-around. Shane would be studying at Tori's house, Tori at Dustin's and Dustin at Shane's. It gave them more time to think of a back-up plan if something came up and the parents compared notes.

More rangers appeared. At first, he had thought that Hunter and Blake would remain evil and they would have to think of a way to destroy them or their powers. Then they admitted that Lothor had lied to them and left town. Seemingly, that was the end of it. That was when the changes started. Tori became more distant and moody, mooning over Blake. Dustin had been truly puzzled. Tori was a tomboy and had never let a guy go to her head like that before. Plus, he thought she and Blake would make a goofy-looking couple. However, she didn't listen to him or Shane and managed to wreck his racing bike in the process. Hunter and Blake joined the team and Tori was split between hanging out with the Thunder brothers and spending time with her long-time best friends.

Cam becoming a ranger didn't have such a great impact on their Three Musketeers dynamic. He had been lurking around the academy since they were students and, over the year they had been students before becoming rangers, had grown used to Cam's incessant sarcasm and demeaning comments. Dustin would have been willing to bet that Blake would have ripped their friendship apart had Sensei not always been there to intervene. And Blake wouldn't have done it on purpose. He would have shown his affection for Tori and she would have gone with him just because he was new and different and offered another kind of comfort from what he and Shane could give without crossing the boundary line that separated friendship and something more.

And now, Tori had kissed him, _him_, her best friend since third grade. He thought she was pretty and he wouldn't have said no to a further relationship with her, but there were other factors to consider here. First and foremost, she was dating Blake. Second, they were best friends. She just knew things about him that he would not have ever dreamed confiding in Marah. And he cringed to think about the pictures from Tori's ninth birthday back in third grade.

He steered the car into the parking lot of Tori's apartment complex. She was working and doing a liberal arts core this year. Next school year, she would transfer to a larger school and finally choose a major. Her apartment was in a better part of town, since her parents helped her pay rent and utilities. He found a spot close to Tori's apartment and parked. Pulling his backpack out of the back seat, he headed towards her apartment. Taking a deep breath, he rang the doorbell.

"Hey, Dustin!" Tori said as she opened the door.

"Hey," he replied, stepping into the apartment.

Tori shut and locked the door. She wrinkled her nose at him. "Uh… Dustin? Have you not showered since you guys have been camping?"

"The showers aren't the greatest in the world and the others smell the same," he retorted, dropping his backpack next to the couch.

"Go take a shower," Tori ordered. "Use my bath stuff."

"Great. Now I'll smell like a girl."

"I don't think anyone around you will care." She paused and looked at his dirt-streaked yellow t-shirt and jeans with mud up to the shins. "And leave your clothes outside the door," she added. "I'll wash them and what's in your backpack."

"What am I supposed to wear?" he protested. He really did not want to try to talk to Tori while wearing… nothing.

"A towel," she snapped. "Now go!"

"All right!" he conceded and headed for the small hallway that led to Tori's bathroom. The bathroom, like the rest of the apartment, screamed girl. It was blue with fish accessories. He quickly stripped, marveling at the layer of residual dirt he had grown accustomed to and put the dirty clothes outside the bathroom. He then locked the door to the bathroom. No need to complicate things any further.

He had almost forgotten how good a real shower felt. Letting the hot water blast away the dirt and tension of the last two weeks had never felt better. He could feel how tight all his muscles were from sleeping on the ground and then running around all day and doing katas. He smiled to himself about the katas. Kelsey and Kira had wanted to learn the kata he was doing. It was an Earth kata and not suited to either of them. Quickly enough, he realized that Kelsey was Water and Kira was Thunder. Luckily enough for him, he knew a Water kata and several Thunder ones. That was what he taught them.

His fingers were starting to wrinkle. Time to get out and not run up Tori's water bill. He quickly toweled off, shaved as best he could with Tori's girl razors and girl shaving cream and ran a comb through his wet hair. He looked like a shaggy dog. Oh well. Wrapping a towel around his waist, he padded out into the main part of the apartment to see about his clothes.

"Your clothes are in the dryer," Tori said without looking up from the book she was reading. He paused and could smell cooking food. "The Bagel Bites will be done in about ten minutes," she added.

"You're the best," he said with a grin. He took a seat at the kitchen table with Tori, careful to make sure the towel did not expose anything. He studied her. He was dying to ask her what that kiss meant. "Tori…" he started nervously.

Her blue eyes met his and she put down the book. "I think I know what you want to ask," she replied. "I don't know, Dustin… we've been friends for so long…"

"Why?" he asked.

"Because I saw the man you'll become," she answered. "You weren't acting goofy or stupid or anything like you normally do. You were being serious and responsible and… that was something I never thought I'd see from you."

Dustin frowned. He was confused. "I don't get it."

Tori didn't answer. She just stood up and rounded the table to him. "You will," she whispered, right before her lips met his. Without thinking, he pulled her into his lap and continued the kiss, wanting it to be slow and passionate. One hungry kiss turned into another. He was having trouble denying the state this was putting him in. He wanted to strip off her pajamas and…

The buzzer on the oven interrupted the moment.

She pulled away from him and went about the task of taking the Bagel Bites out of the oven and putting them on a plate. "You're dating Blake," Dustin said as she brought the food to the table. Tori sighed.

"I know," she replied.

"You know. Then what is this?"

"Something we should have done a long time ago," was the whispered response.

The food was forgotten on the table.

Hours later, in that drowsy state between waking and sleeping, Dustin smiled to himself and pressed a kiss to Tori's temple. The feel of bare skin on bare skin was intoxicating and amazing. He shivered with delight at the memory of the last few hours. Glancing down at Tori's sleeping form, he would have never imagined this moment.

Then it hit him.

A sick feeling settled into the pit of his stomach. This was not right. Whatever that message from Trini meant it wasn't this. He was not supposed to want this at all. His thoughts were erratic and all over the place. She was dating Blake and had not shown interest in any other guy since Blake first came on the scene. Dustin had always been her best friend and the one that everyone made talk to the angry person. He was not the one Tori had wanted in a romantic sense…

All right, so he thought she and Blake looked goofy together. It wasn't any worse than what would have happened if her early crush on Cam had gone anywhere. (Cam had low tolerance for all of them and would probably be shocked now to find out that Tori had had a crush on him when they first became students.) But he and Tori… well, it had just happened, hadn't it? They would deal with the consequences.

Nothing in life was a fairy tale.

He knew that now, more acutely than he ever had in his life. Struggling to make ends meet from month to month with no hope of gaining more had taught him so much. He knew the true value of how hard his father had worked for all those years. He knew the value of saving a few dollars every month. Life after high school graduation had not been as he had imagined it, but, somehow, he wouldn't have it any other way. Cam always seemed to know when he didn't quite have enough money to buy groceries and things like that.

His gaze went back to Tori. What was happening to him?

* * *

If someone had told Kira in her first three years of high school that she would become close friends with Conner McKnight and Ethan James, she would have laughed at them and walked away. No one could have anticipated the friendship between the three of them. _They_ couldn't have anticipated their friendship. It all spiraled back to that bogus detention when Doctor Oliver had decided to take them to a museum instead of staying at school. The Dino-Gems did the rest, throwing them together in a team that had to learn to get along. 

And it worked out. They got to know one another. They learned each others' strengths and weaknesses, taught the others new things and incorporated their likes and dislikes until it was one arena where the three of them could meet on common ground. Conner dragged them to the soccer field and they played soccer with him. Ethan did light shows for her gigs and brought up things Conner liked on the internet. She had written numerous songs about them and their adventures. The boys came to her gigs, while she and Ethan went to Conner's soccer games and she and Conner tried out Ethan's demo computer games. They had adapted and developed such a close friendship…

Doctor Oliver becoming a ranger didn't affect them, since he had already given them their morphers and mentored them in their first few days of being rangers. To have him become a ranger as well was natural. He was still their teacher and their mentor and their friend. Trent was what threw a wrench in the works. Being good, then evil, betraying them a couple times before becoming ultimately good… no one quite knew where he stood or whether or not to trust him. She had liked him, dated him… with Conner and Ethan breathing down her neck.

She smiled to herself and steered her car into Conner's apartment complex. He lived outside of LA in a staunchly middle class neighborhood. What had possessed him to move off campus and get an apartment by himself she didn't know. She had the feeling that Conner was hiding more than just his changed major. The only question was—what? Conner had grown up and become more than just a dumb jock. He had a compassionate streak that he hid expertly from prying eyes. He was also more creative than he or anyone else gave himself credit for. Smiling to herself, she recalled how he had ended up in a creative writing class due to a clerical error in the registrar's office the spring of their senior year. He ended up writing a whole series of short stories about Joey Rigatoni, a dysfunctional mafia member. That was Conner, his mind worked in mysterious ways.

No one was moving around the parking lot this late a night. She glanced at the balcony of Conner's apartment. He was sitting out there in a lawn chair, waving at her. Smiling, she waved back and got her backpack out of the car before moving to meet him.

"Hey!" she called as she climbed up the stairs to his second-floor apartment.

"Hey," he called back rising to meet her. He gave her a quick hug and stepped back. "God, you stink."

"It's been kind of rough out there," she retorted.

Conner shrugged as they went into his apartment. "You can use my shower if you want."

"I was planning on it."

He glowered at her. "I love how the step of asking me is omitted."

"It's because I know you love me." She stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek.

"Fine," he grumbled. "And be happy. I cleaned."

His apartment was spotless by Conner standards, which meant the counter between the living room and kitchen was still piled with clutter. Stuff cluttered most of the kitchen table along with a stray gym bag in the corner. However, there were no dirty dishes or rotting food in the kitchen. His bedroom door was shut—probably a prudent move on his part and more efficient if faced with the task of shutting the door or cleaning it.

"I'll wash your clothes if you want," he added, nodding towards her dirt-streaked clothes and her jeans that were caked with mud around the ankle.

"That would be great," she replied, kicking off her filthy sneakers inside the door.

"I'll find you something to wear." He disappeared into his bedroom. When he came back out, he left the door open, revealing that his bedroom was not the wreck she would have expected it to be. His bed was made—for him. He handed her a red button-up shirt and a pair of red plaid pajama pants that didn't appear to be something he wore on a regular basis.

Without saying anything she took the clothes and went into his bathroom. It was clean and to her standards surprisingly. She stripped off her clothes and located her cleanest bra and pair of underwear before depositing the rest of her clothes outside the bathroom door. The hot shower felt good, washing away the dirt and tension of the past two weeks. Today they had made more progress than ever before—they had truly accepted that they needed to work together or not at all.

Soon enough, she got out of the shower and put on her semi-clean undergarments and the borrowed clothes. Conner's clothes were too big for her, but she wasn't going to complain. Clean clothes felt as good as the shower had. Leaving her toiletries in the bathroom, she padded out into the living room, noting that her clothes had disappeared. Ordinarily, she would have been mortified to have Conner handling her underwear, but, at this point in time, she really didn't care.

Conner was sitting on the couch, disinterestedly flipping through channels. He grinned when she came out. "Do you own anything that's not red?" she asked as she ungracefully flopped onto the couch next to him.

His grin grew wider. "Sure. I just have to find it." She half-heartedly punched his upper arm. He pretended to be hurt, but then smiled. "So what do you want to do?" he asked.

"I think I owe you a slot-car race."

"You're on!"

He grabbed her hand and led her into his bedroom where his computer and desk where. Her previous assessment that his bedroom was clean on his standards was correct. Most of the clothing had been picked up and his comforter had been pulled over the bed, giving it a look of neatness.

Conner won all the slot-car races, of course.

She yawned as the last race ended. He gave her a worried look. "Have you guys been getting much sleep out there?"

"Yeah. I've just been sleeping on the ground for two weeks." She stifled another yawn. "If I can have a pillow or something I think I'll just crash."

"Where?"

"On the couch."

Conner shook his head. "No. You've been sleeping on the ground. You can sleep in the bed and I'll sleep on the couch."

"Conner-" she started, but he interrupted her.

"No. It's just…" he trailed off and looked thoughtful. "Look, it's a queen-sized bed. I'm sure we can both share it without imposing on one another."

"You want me to share a bed with you?"

"If you don't like the idea, I can always sleep on the couch."

She liked that idea even less. Conner picked the worst times to be chivalrous. "All right," she agreed. "We can share the bed, but you'd better not try anything."

He held up his hands in surrender. "I couldn't try anything," he muttered. "You'd beat me to a bloody pulp."

"Right," she replied.

He turned off the computer and then pulled back the covers on the bed, showing that he had really made the bed and not just done a half-assed job. She crawled under the covers and he followed suite, making sure to keep a respectable distance from her. Conner turned off the bedside lamp, plunging them into darkness. After a moment, her eyes adjusted and she could see his profile in the moonlight.

"Conner?" she whispered.

"What?" he asked, turning towards her.

She was all too aware of his heat and his very presence. "How come you never got another girlfriend after Krista broke up with you?"

"I'm waiting for the right girl this time," he said softly.

"Oh." That was not something Conner normally said. "Hey, Conner?"

"Huh?" he murmured sleepily.

"Remember Joey Rigatoni?"

He laughed. "How could I forget that?"

"You were so proud of those stories."

"I sent them to a publisher."

She remained in a shocked silence for a moment. Conner had sent something he had written to a publisher? This was as improbable as him deciding he wanted to be a social worker. "Really?" she asked.

"I thought you were tired."

"Well, I got in bed and woke up."

She could feel him turning onto his side and could feel him staring at her. He reached out and his fingers gently brushed her cheek. "You're a great musician," he whispered. His searing touch was going straight to her brain. She had wondered for so long what it would be like to have Conner hold her, kiss her and not as a friend. But she had always silenced those thoughts. Conner had his world and she had hers. They were two completely different people. A relationship could never work out… or could it? The more she thought about it, the more she began to believe her grandmother. Her grandmother had always said if you can talk to a person, imagine waking up next to them every day for the rest of your life and imagine growing old with them, then that is the person you're meant to be with.

"Thanks," she said, her voice quavering.

"Do you… want to go out to dinner or a movie sometime?"

"Are you asking me out?"

"Yes."

He moved closer to her and his lips met hers in the lightest, most tentative of kisses. She responded by pulling him closer, deepening the kiss. He stopped her before it could go on and opened his arms to her. She snuggled up against him, for the first time in a long time, feeling content, feeling like this is where she belonged. 

_To Be Continued..._

* * *

**Author's Note: **I am so sorry- I still haven't been able to get back to reviewers. Blame the Hamlet paper... But rest assured that I do read all the reviews and take into consideration what each of you have to say. I'll try to start getting back to everyone with the next update or so, either in an extended note at the end of the chapter or via e-mail. But the reviews from the last update knocked my socks off! You guys are awesome-EK 


	17. Soaring Eagle

**Disclaimer:** Don't own 'em.

**RESTLESS WARRIORS**

By Etcetera Kit

**Chapter Seventeen: Soaring Eagle **

Taylor didn't know why she was going to Eric's house. No, yes she did know why she was going to Eric's house. He was soon to be her employer and they had to talk about some things if they ever hoped to have a decent working relationship. Growling to herself, she thought back to the catcalls and the constant question of 'I thought you hated Eric.' How that information got out to any of them was completely beyond her. Any comments she had made were off-hand and didn't pertain to them at all. She was starting to suspect phone calls had gone on behind closed doors, but no one was going to admit to calling someone to pass on gossip.

It would be just like them.

She just wanted things to be like they were. First, it had been the tenacious status quo at her house as a child. She had always wanted to keep the peace and, when she realized that that was a fruitless endeavor, she had thrown herself into the fight, trying to salvage what she had valued. Then her parents divorced, for the better she knew now, but at the time, that was not evident. She had gone on into the Air Force, still searching for that stability that she lacked. Even the military didn't quite provide that. Then she became a ranger… while there was no status quo there or anything remotely resembling organization and routine, there was more stability there than she had ever had in her life. She could rely on the other rangers. They drove her crazy, but they always came through.

Then they met the Time Force Rangers.

It happened to be the day she had just gotten her new car. She remembered that car—it was yellow and had been the best car she had owned. She got pulled over by the Silver Guardians—not just the police, but the elite police. Eric had given her a ticket for going almost twenty miles over the speed limit while talking on a cell phone. She took the ticket and went on her way, never guessing that he was a Time Force Ranger, never knowing.

She found out soon enough and there was sexual tension almost immediately. It was like they both had to prove themselves, that they were the better ranger. That had gotten them nowhere. A tentative alliance was formed and it spiraled into more, much more. That afternoon in the Animarium after the mutorgs had been destroyed… it brought back painful memories. An afternoon of lovemaking with Eric shouldn't have been painful to remember, but it was. It brought them to their present state—nothing but sex. If that afternoon had played out differently, their lives might be extraordinarily different. One couldn't tell. She would never know what would have happened if they had suppressed that instinct.

God, he was an asshole, but he had just bailed her out. What in the world was she supposed to think of that?

Her phone call to him, to warn him she was coming, had been brief. Eric tended to be extremely laconic and had just grunted in all the right places, making no overtures of surprise or displeasure at having her at his house. He was neutral in all aspects. Hell, maybe he had a girlfriend now and figured it would be safer to tell her to her face. No, Eric wasn't that stupid. He would have called or sent a letter or something. All things tallied up, he was just being Eric and Eric did not like to engage in idle chitchat.

Great, now she was at his house. She stopped the car and turned it off. Then she banged her head against the steering wheel a couple times. "Why the hell am I doing this?" she asked aloud. She looked up. Eric was standing in the front door of his house. His arms were crossed and he was leaning against the doorframe, an amused smile on his face.

Mustering up her best glare, she got out of the car, dragging the backpack she had borrowed from Kelsey. His smile didn't change.

"I was wondering if you were going to get out of the car or sit there and beat your head in," he commented as she trudged up the walk.

Her answer was a glare.

He just laughed. "No hello?"

"Hi Eric," she growled and pushed him out of the way as she entered his house.

"You know," he said in a musing tone as he came into the house and shut the door. "I'm detecting a serious lack of gratitude."

She whirled around to face. "What? You want me to fuck you for getting me a job?" He just gave her a mild look. That only made her angrier. "If I remember correctly, you wanted me for the job!"

"Sex works two ways," he said. His voice had fallen to a low dangerous tone. Shit. "I don't have sex with unwilling women."

She had known it would be a mistake to come here. Incensed, she threw the backpack at the couch. "What do you want from me?" she yelled. "All we ever do is get together and have sex!" He didn't say anything, just raised an eyebrow. "I hate you," she muttered. The silence was heavy with tension. She hated it when he had a blank look on his face. It was worse than when she knew he was angry.

"I want you to take a shower and let me wash your clothes. Then I want you to eat a sandwich and then we'll talk."

"Are you my mother?" she hissed.

"I'm sure you already have a mother and don't need another one. Besides, I don't want a maternal relationship with you."

Not knowing what else to do, she picked up the backpack and turned on her heel down the hall to the bathroom. Once there, she shut the door and sat down on the edge of the tub. For the first time, she wished that Eric's bathroom door had a lock. There was nothing else to do and she did want a real shower. She stripped and got into the shower. The warm water felt good, but didn't quite ease the tension of being in the same house as Eric. When she got out of the shower, she saw her clothes gone along with the backpack. He had left her some of his clothes and… clean underwear? She flushed involuntarily at what that meant. Grimacing, she combed and braided her hair before putting on the mostly borrowed clothes and going out into the kitchen of his house.

Eric was sitting at the kitchen table. She sat down across from him, the sounds of the washer or dryer going on in the background. He pushed a plate with a sandwich on it towards her along with a mug of coffee. He didn't say anything as she ate. Soon enough, the plate was clear and the mug was empty.

He leaned forward like he wanted to say something. She gave him a bored look. She got a glare in return. "Will you marry me?"

"What?" she exclaimed, not quite believing what had just come out of his mouth. This was Eric from a dysfunctional family… and he wanted to marry _her_? That made no sense.

"You heard me," he retorted.

"Why?"

"Because you drive me insane."

"What kind of a reason is that?"

"Shit," Eric muttered, raking a hand through his hair. "It's a damn good reason," he defended himself. "You won't let me do to you what my father did to my mother."

"Eric, what are you talking about?" she asked, confused.

"Taylor…" he started and then trailed off, like he wasn't sure where to start. "You know the problems my family had, still has." He paused. She did know the problems he was talking about—alcoholics, infidelity and others to the tenth power. "You wouldn't let me do that. You'd fight me."

"Is that the only reason?" She tried to sound aloof, but she was shaking inside. Whatever she had expected from Eric, it wasn't this.

"No," he retorted hotly. "It's you."

"What about me?"

"You're gorgeous and intelligent and the world's biggest bitch and you scare the shit out of me more often than not."

Taylor frowned. "Thanks. I think."

He stood up and rounded the table. She rose to meet him and their lips met in a fiery, passionate kiss that she felt down to each nerve ending. One of his hands was threaded through her hair, cradling her head. The other was wrapped around her waist, holding her close to him so that she couldn't deny the heat that came from his body, his need… She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed close to him. His kisses were amazing and made her feel like agreeing to anything.

"When do you want to get married?" he whispered, his forehead pressed to hers and his breath warm on her face.

"I haven't said yes yet," she reminded him.

He gave her another wild, probing kiss that was a prelude to so much more. "I'll give you three good reasons," he whispered. "Wedding cake, oral sex and you'd get to use my credit card."

"I like cake," she replied unsteadily.

"Is that a yes?"

"I suppose."

She gasped as he leaned in for another kiss. His arms were wrapped firmly around her waist so she couldn't get anywhere. He finally adjusted his arms and picked her up, taking her down the hallway to the bedroom and depositing her on the bed. His fingers were running through her hair as he kissed a trail down to her earlobe.

"Do you have a ring?" she asked breathlessly.

He let out an extremely creative curse, before going over to his dresser and pulling a box from one of the drawers. "Want me to go down on one knee?" he asked sarcastically.

"Just get the hell over here," she snapped.

Clicking open the box, he pulled out the ring and slipped it onto the proper finger. It was a plain gold band with a dark sapphire in the middle. "It matches your eyes," he whispered. The box rattled as they shifted on the bed. She grabbed the box and found another ring in it, but this one was just a plain gold band. Slipping it onto Eric's finger, she knew that this was either a great idea or a lousy one and only time would tell.

* * *

Kelsey stared aimlessly at the bleak highway. Why Ryan had chosen to live so far out of town was completely beyond her. He still had problems of his own, which is why it was so amazing that he had been the one she got a hold of, the one who she was going to spend time with. He tended to spend a lot of time with his sister, Dana in the city. And Dana tended to be around Carter a lot, so that was his default group of friends. Ryan also had an extremely different outlook on life than most people. He had been raised by Diabolico and thought nothing about getting speeding tickets or getting into fistfights, but he was extremely loyal and stood up for his friends. He still had some quirks, but was adjusting to being in normal society. 

The Lightspeed Rangers had been one motley crew that was for sure. They had a firefighter as their leader along with a whale trainer, a stunt pilot, a paramedic in training and her. The firefighter and the paramedic in training made sense, but the other three? She supposed they had the more physical skills needed to become a Power Ranger. They were athletic and could put up a decent fight or they could pilot a zord with no worries. Like all the other teams of rangers, she supposed that they seemed like five of the most different people in the world, but they had learned how to work together, how to adapt.

Like now… five people with different backgrounds and temperaments thrown together and asked to work together in record time. Well, they had achieved unity in two weeks. It might have taken longer if that confrontation with Taylor had been delayed. Comic books… who would have known that that would be the common ground Taylor and Dustin would meet on. This would work out. They would think of a way to do this—they all had their powers now.

The townhouse complex Ryan lived in could almost be described as being in the middle of nowhere. It was a newer one and the area around it would most likely be developed in the next ten or so years, but it was pretty desolate right now. It was nice… but lonely. She steered her car into the parking lot and found a space in front of Ryan's townhouse. His motorcycle was parked in the other space allotted for his house.

The lights were on in his house. She got out of the car, shouldering her small bag and went up to his house. She rang the doorbell and stood back and waited. There appeared to be a lot of clambering and noise going on in the house—more noise that one person had any right to make by himself. What was Ryan doing? She didn't think he was into having parties and wild nights and things like that. And he had seemed okay with her coming when she talked to him earlier.

The front door opened. "Hey!" Ryan said. He pulled the door open all the way revealing there to be a lot of people in his house.

Kelsey froze. All the other Lightspeed Rangers were in Ryan's house. She felt a lump form in the back of her throat. The others had all come over here to see her? "Oh my God," she whispered. "You're all here."

The next few moments were a confused cacophony of her being passed around the room to hug everyone and have most of the guys kiss her cheek. All of them looked much the same as they had when they were rangers. Carter, Joel and Ryan hadn't changed much, right down to the same haircut. Chad had longer hair and his skin was a shade or two darker than it had been. Dana's hair was pulled back into a ponytail and she was grinning.

"You didn't tell me you invited the others!" Kelsey said to Ryan, giving him a playful punch on the arm.

He shrugged. "I didn't know I was inviting the others when you called."

"Come on!" Joel called over the others. "Let's eat! I'm starving!"

"He's always starving," Carter muttered under his breath.

Kelsey laughed and followed the others into the kitchen. The townhouse was rather bare—devoid of decorations or little things to make it homey. Then again, Ryan was living here by himself and was probably spending a lot of time fending off Dana's attempts to help him interior decorate. However, the kitchen table was piled with food, presumably, that everyone had brought with them on their way to Ryan's house.

"This is what I'm talking about!" Joel commented.

Carter was rolling his eyes and Chad was inspecting a box of mini-egg rolls for heating instructions. Joel was digging into the food on the table. "See what you've missed?" Dana said in an undertone.

Kelsey laughed. "They're no worse than Dustin."

"Dustin?" Dana asked.

"One of the other yellow rangers I'm going on this mission with."

The Pink Lightspeed Ranger nodded. "Yeah. Ryan told us all about that." She paused and then grinned. "How come you didn't tell any of us that's what you were doing?"

She shrugged. "We left kind of quickly and most people's cell phones died, so we had to take turns charging them in the car. Not much contact with other humans."

"I'd imagine," Dana said dryly.

"Well, we did meet a fairy and a couple of spirits and then Taylor ran into these little demons that looked like potatoes."

That got most everyone's attention. Joel was giving her an open-mouth stare and Chad had suddenly lost interest in the egg rolls. "All right!" she said loudly. "I'm sorry for not telling any of you about this mission or what it was about!"

"We've got all night," Joel said. "You can tell us now."

"Yeah," Ryan chimed in. "I know a thing or two about demons."

"I should hope so," Dana said under her breath.

Kelsey resigned herself to pulling up a kitchen chair and relating everything that had happened to her since Maya's initial phone call. She told them about the Wind Ninja Academy and the scroll of destiny and meeting Trini the first time. Soon enough, no one was wondering about the filthy state of her clothes and the fact that she looked like she hadn't taken a proper shower in two weeks.

"Do you need our help?" was the first thing Carter asked.

Kelsey shook her head. "The scroll was pretty insistent on the fact that this was assigned to the five of us." She paused. "The five yellow rangers that is."

"Well, you know how to get a hold of us if you need us," Chad reminded her, holding up his wrist that had his morpher. Their morphers were linked as communication devices so they could talk to each other in an emergency. It helped—they could contact the others in the middle of a battle if need be.

"I'll keep that in mind," she replied, surveying the food on the table. Most of it was junky snack food that looked really good at that point in time. It was amazing how much camp food made one crave good-old microwavable food. She picked out some stuff and put it on one of the plates that Ryan had dug up.

The others kept up friendly chatter over the food. Kelsey smiled frequently at the pointed looks Joel kept giving Carter. The Red Ranger was glaring back at Joel. Those two were closer than they let on—they were just complete character foils in the process. "You need to announce it," Joel hissed.

"Joel, what's going on?" Kelsey asked.

Joel stared at Carter. Carter let out a long breath. "Dana and I are engaged."

There was silence in the room for a moment. Then everyone erupted into well-wishing and general noise. It still amazed her how much noise the six of them could make when someone put them in the same room. She smiled. Carter and Dana should have gotten together a long time ago. They were suited for one another.

"That's great, guys!" she said with a grin.

Soon enough the food was gone into the depths of people's stomachs and the guys were out in the living room doing something ridiculous—either playing a video game (Ryan did have a video game system since he hadn't been allowed to do any of that stuff as a child) or watching some gruesome 'beat 'em up' kind of movie. She and Dana were left in the kitchen to ignore the manly bonding time.

"What are the other yellow rangers like?" Dana asked.

Kelsey smiled. "They're great people. At first I didn't think we'd get along, but everything has turned out all right."

"Well, having Maya with you is certainly an experience." Dana had met Maya when the Lost Galaxy Rangers had helped them out with Trakeena.

"Did you get a phone call from any of the other Galaxy Rangers?"

Dana frowned and shook her head. "Not that I know of. You might want to ask some of the boys though."

Kelsey shook her head. "They'd have said something."

"What about the others though?" Dana asked picking up the previous thread of the conversation. "What are they like?"

"Taylor's a control freak and she's not overly nice."

"Does she get along with anyone?"

"She does now." Dana looked startled while Kelsey just laughed. "Dustin is kind of a space case, but he's a nice space case. Kira's a musician. Doesn't suffer fools well." She paused and drew in a breath. "Look, I appreciate you guys coming here to see me."

"We're your friends," Dana replied. "We're here for you."

"I know. I just…"

"Don't even think about it," Dana reprimanded her. "We are your friends."

"Of course, we're your friends," Joel said coming into the kitchen. "We like you even when you smell kind of weird."

"You can stay with me tonight," Dana offered. "I think I have clothes you can borrow and it might be a little more comfortable than staying with Ryan." She shook her head and sighed. "God only knows what his routine is."

She joined in the laughter.

A few hours later when she was following Dana back into the heart of Mariner Bay, she couldn't help but feel content. A warm fuzzy feeling had descended upon her. She hadn't doubted that her friends were there for her before, but it had been confirmed in her mind.

And that made all the difference in the world. 

_To Be Continued..._


	18. Blood On the Moon

**Disclaimer:** The usual- no infringement intended.

**RESTLESS WARRIORS**

By Etcetera Kit

**Chapter Eighteen: Blood On the Moon **

It was still that pre-dawn gray haze. Soon enough, the sun would rise and burn off the gloom, calling people to wake up. Maya stepped out of the tent. It was still so early that she could make out the fading stars and the moon. Their camp site was unnaturally quiet with the others gone. A part of her wished that she could see some of her friends on Mirinoi, but it was fleeting. It was impractical. She had often been accused of being an aimless dreamer, but she knew where the line between dreams and reality was. She would not see any of her friends from Mirinoi until this mission was over. Perhaps the others were doing well and coming up with some ideas. She still thought their best bet was to try to switch out the herbs. Even if they just managed to dilute them, it might be enough to thwart the ceremony. And then there was Dustin… they needed to keep him out of the clutches of the demons.

The walk to the bathroom was uneventful. No one in the camp was stirring, despite the inflated weekend numbers. She quickly brushed her teeth and tied her hair back. Kendrix had insisted a while ago that she get her hair cut and styled, so she didn't resemble a shaggy dog. Her hair was still long, but now had some shape and was easier to tie back. It looked neater when she took the time to brush it and do something with it.

Leaving the bathroom, the world around her slept.

She went back to the camp site and put up her things. Coming out of the tent, she realized that the sun had not started to come up yet. It had to be even earlier than she thought it was. Smiling, she looked up at the just visible stars. The moon was large and round, not quite a full moon yet. Something wasn't right about it though… she squinted and studied the large orb, trying to figure out what was wrong. It was tinted red.

Blood on the moon…

Her heart leapt into her throat. That was a bad omen. Instinctively, her hands went to the amulet around her neck, holding it tight and letting the good energy from it flow into her being. She hoped that the others had their amulets either on or near them. This was not good, not good at all. Blood on the moon usually meant the worst was coming. When it happened on Mirinoi, the people would start stockpiling food and expecting the worst that could happen. Here, she wasn't sure that anyone paid attention to the sky or the stars.

She had a feeling that this meant the web of dreams would be awakened. Blood sings to blood… The other yellow rangers would be coming and it was only a matter of time. She thought to the other yellow rangers who weren't part of the scroll. They would come, if called. No… she needed the others to come back. They had to get to work on their plan and do strategic things that had been neglected until now. Kira had left Maya her cell phone with all the contact numbers programmed in. They had to get back.

Locating the cell phone, she dialed the first person in the phone book—Dustin.

He sounded sleepy when he answered, but promised to get there immediately. Kelsey was next and she sounded much the same way. Taylor didn't answer, but Maya left a voicemail message for her. Finally, she called Kira at Conner's apartment.

A man, presumably Conner, answered the phone. "Hello?"

"May I speak to Kira?" she asked, trying to be polite despite her panic.

"Sure." There was some shuffling, before Kira came on the line.

"Maya?" she asked.

"There's blood on the moon," Maya whispered. "I need you back here."

"I'm on my way," Kira promised before disconnecting the call.

Maya sank down onto the picnic table, all previous thoughts of finding breakfast gone. Her stomach was tied into knots. For the first time, she wished that Kai or Damon were here. They would scoff at her superstitions and tell her there was nothing to worry about. A red tint on the moon would not hurt anyone. Sometimes, she needed to hear that. Her people were so immersed into myth and legend that everything out of the ordinary was taken as a sign. First the Quasar Sabers and now this… Her eyes went to her morpher and held her hands out, making her saber appear.

She studied the saber. The hilt of each one featured a carving of the animal that would become that ranger's Galacta-Beast. Hers was the wolf. In many ways it was appropriate. She was the lone wolf most of the time, going her own way and doing her own thing. She also had a fierce loyalty when it came to her pack, her friends. But she was now also the Phoenix. Their new animal spirits described them as did their previous zords. Taylor had been the Eagle. Dustin had been the Lion. Kira had been the Pterodactyl.

The writing on the blade was an ancient language, long forgotten by the time that she and the other Galaxy Rangers had been gifted with the sabers. Sighing, she vanished the saber and looked up at the sky. Gold was streaking the distant horizon and putting the stars and moon into their daytime slumber.

"We're in deep water," she whispered. "We don't know the entirety of what is happening and we don't know how to stop it. We're drowning."

The scrolls of destiny were not wrong. That much she knew. However, the scrolls rarely said who would come out victorious. Theirs didn't. She wanted to know that they would win, that they could do this, but there were no guarantees.

"It's just a natural phenomenon," she said to herself.

But that didn't stop her from being spooked. She had grown up believing that all these things had a higher meaning and didn't learn until being stranded on Terra Venture that these things had a natural and logical explanation. Even then, it had been hard for her to believe that everything she had grown up with was a myth. Blood on the moon didn't mean anything. But they were dealing with the supernatural here. It could mean everything.

On Mirinoi, they had a saying—grounded angels, your wings are broken, time to mend and learn to fly. Well, they were in deep water. Maybe it was time to learn how to swim. Something had to give here.

Dustin was the preferred human sacrifice.

Mike seemed to reciprocate her feelings.

Reaching down on the ground, she picked a dandelion. Its bright yellow petals had faded to the white seeds that would be spread in the wind. She stared at the dying flower for a moment. Words had power.

"Mike," she whispered to the flower. "If I don't come back from this mission, I want you to know that I love you. I have for a long time now. If I come back, we can make it work. We'll find a way to bridge the gap between our worlds."

She gently blew the seeds loose from the flower, before tossing the stem in the breeze after the seeds. He would feel those words and understand.

* * *

Dustin was trying to take a shower in record time. He didn't take much time in the shower as is, but he was trying to go even faster than normal. Maya's tone when she called had not been good and he knew she needed the rest of them back as soon as possible. He would have liked to spend more time with Tori, letting both of them wake up on their own. And there was still so much in unknown territory here. But duty called… he had always tried to weigh what was important in his life and this was important. They had been called upon to take up their positions as rangers once more.

He shook his head and quickly washed the soap out of his hair. Turning off the water, he jumped out of the shower, toweled off and put on his now-clean clothes. His hair was still damp and dripping, but there was nothing to be done for it.

Double-checking to make sure he had everything he had brought with him, he pulled on his backpack and went out into the main part of the apartment. Tori was just taking waffles out of the toaster. He went over to her and kissed her cheek.

"Eat something," she said before he could open his mouth.

"I don't have time," he protested.

She gave him a look that would have made a guerilla warfare enthusiast start crying. He obediently sat down in one of the chairs and started shoveling down waffles at warp speed.

"How do you do that and not get sick?" Tori asked.

"I was late for school a lot," he replied.

"I think I just skipped breakfast when I was late."

"Breakfast is the most important meal of the day."

"And who was just about to try to skip breakfast?"

He glowered at her and continued eating. Soon enough, his plate was empty. He stood up and gave Tori a firm, but quick kiss on the lips. "We'll talk as soon as this is all over," he said softly, before leaving the apartment.

* * *

Kira got out of the shower and located her hairbrush. Conner didn't have a hairdryer, no surprise, so she would just have to deal with damp hair. She brushed her hair and put it into pigtails, before getting dressed in her still-damp albeit clean jeans and Conner's shirt from last night. He had forgotten to put her clothes in the dryer before they went to bed last night, so all her clothes were now half-dry. She didn't mind. She could hang them up somewhere at camp to let them dry completely.

Conner was at the stove when she came out into the living room. "What are you doing?" she asked as she opened the front door to the apartment and tried to knock some of the dirt off her sneakers.

"Making you breakfast," he replied.

"I hope I can eat this in the car," she called back. "Because I need to get going."

"Of course!"

She got as much dirt off her sneakers as she was going to and then went back into the apartment. Conner was putting scrambled eggs, bacon and cheese in a biscuit.

"Conner does McDonald's at home?" she asked with a smile.

"It's cheaper." He wrapped the creation in foil and stuck it in a paper bag with an apple and banana. He handed it to her along with a thermos. "Orange juice in the thermos," he explained.

"I didn't know you could be this sweet," she said.

He shrugged. "I can if I want to."

Kira smiled and reached out, giving him a tight hug which he returned with equal intensity. He then eased her back from him before planting a kiss on her forehead.

"You look good in my shirt," he said softly with a wide grin.

"Is that a compliment?" she whispered.

He didn't reply. His hands were on her upper arms, rubbing gently. "Just be careful," he said. "You know where I am if you need me."

"I know."

"Besides, you owe me a date!"

Kira smiled and gently smacked his chest. "At least it's not a slot-car race," she replied.

"Give me a call when you get back there."

"I will."

Conner gently leaned down and gave her a soft open-mouthed kiss. He then playfully tugged on one of her pigtails. She smiled. They said their goodbyes and she went out to her car. If Conner let his gentler, compassionate side out more often, their relationship would be great.

* * *

Kelsey looked at the long-sleeved pink shirt and pair of jeans Dana had loaned her. It wasn't something she would normally wear, much more feminine and girly, but it fit and that was all that mattered at this point in time. She quickly tied her hair back into a ponytail. Maya had called early that morning. Kelsey had gotten up and ready to go, not wanting to wake Dana up at five-thirty on a Saturday morning.

She quickly went through her wallet. She had enough cash to pick up some food somewhere on her way back to camp. That would work. She needed to get back and see exactly what about 'blood on the moon' had scared Maya so much. Maya was a rock. Nothing seemed to scare her or send her into a panic. If something could, then it was serious. She went downstairs.

And the living room was not empty when she got there.

Joel and Dana were sitting in the living room and looked up when she came in. "What are you guys doing up?" she asked.

"You didn't think you could sneak away?" Dana asked.

"Yeah," Joel added. "And besides, my dear wife is making me loan you my car."

Joel was married to the former Miss Fairweather. She had been one of their commanding officer types when they had been active rangers. She also now ran Joel's life down to making him loan someone his car.

"Why?"

"Because your car's a piece of junk," he replied succinctly.

Well, there was that. "Fine," she agreed, giving Joel a glare.

* * *

Kira pulled her car up to the camp site. Dustin and Kelsey were already there—Kelsey traded in her station wagon for someone's truck. Who was she borrowing a car from? Kelsey was sitting with Maya, talking to her in soft tones. Dustin was crushing herbs with a mortar and pestle that Maya had brought with her from Mirinoi.

She got out of her car and went up to them.

"What's going on?"

"We've got part of an attack plan," Dustin said.

"We're going to switch the herbs out," Kelsey added.

"Didn't we decide that was too risky," she asked.

"Do we have another choice?" the Lightspeed Ranger responded.

Kira shook her head. They really didn't. It was the easiest way to disassemble the ceremony without having a full-out battle against the demons. They would have to destroy the herbs somehow and search the whole lair for extra supplies of the things. It would take careful planning and more knowledge of the lair than they had right now. That meant sending more scouting expeditions to the lair to explore and get crude maps.

"Where's Taylor?" she asked.

Maya shook her head as she handed Kira her cell phone. "I couldn't get through to her. I left her a voicemail message."

"She went to see Eric," Kira said slowly. "Does anyone have Eric's number?"

Kelsey sighed. "He was the one person we didn't get to know when we helped out the Time Force Rangers."

"Let's just hope she checks her voicemail," Dustin said, the grinding slowing down more and more as he kept on doing that. Maya leaned over and looked at the progress he had made. She then picked up Kelsey's digital camera and studied the picture of the herbs, presumably.

"Just a little finer," she told Dustin. "She won't notice the difference."

Kira leaned towards Dustin and got a whiff of the smashed up herb. No wonder Dustin had a pinched look on his face. The thing smelt horrible. "What is that?" she asked.

"I don't want to know," Dustin replied.

A black SUV pulled up to their camp site. That had to be Taylor, but what was with the car? That was not the little blue rental car she used to have. Taylor got out of the passenger's seat, while a man Kira didn't recognize got out of the driver's seat. He had Asian features, but it looked like one of his parents had been Caucasian. He was solidly built, muscles evident even from under the long-sleeved black shirt and red button-up shirt he was wearing.

"Sorry I'm late," Taylor said, not really sounding sorry. "This is Eric," she added, indicating the guy that had come with her. Eric nodded and gave them all appraising looks.

Oh boy.

* * *

Dustin tried to keep his jaw from dropping open as Taylor introduced Eric to them. The pestle slowly came to a halt. This was the guy that Taylor was going to see, who she hated, who was going to be her boss? He was confused. What was the guy doing here with Taylor? He thought about shrinking down into the table, since Eric didn't look like he had any problems beating people up or using the laser gun strapped to his thigh on someone. Dustin noticed the morpher on his left wrist. So he had ranger powers like they did. Or still had his ranger powers. He was pretty sure that this guy had been a ranger before, if he remembered the history correctly.

"Kelsey, Kira, Maya and Dustin," Taylor said, pointing at each person as she introduced them to Eric.

"I know Kelsey," Eric said shortly.

"How's Wes?" Kelsey asked.

"He's fine. He's the co-commander of the Silver Guardians now." Eric didn't look like he was here for the small talk.

"So what brings you here?" Kelsey continued.

"I'm here to help you guys out." He paused. "You need a battle plan."

"We've got one," Kira spoke up.

"Oh?" Eric looked mildly interested now.

"We're going to switch out some of the herbs they use for the ceremony," Maya said softly, her brown eyes giving Eric a defiant stare. "We'll need to explore their lair more to get an idea of where all the herbs are, but it should work."

Eric shrugged. "It's a decent plan, if executed properly." He paused. "All of you need to do laundry and we need to get this map together as soon as possible."

"Uh, who died and left you in charge?" Kira asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"How many of you have experience in the Marines and the Silver Guardians? Any of you ever had to infiltrate a terrorist building?" Stunned silence met that. "I didn't think so," Eric murmured. He looked around at the people gathered around the picnic table. "Kira, Winslow and you," he said pointing lastly at Taylor. "You're on laundry detail."

"Excuse me?" Kira asked.

At the same time, Taylor growled, "You sexist pig."

Eric ignored her. "Maya, you just continue with the herbs." He pointed at Dustin. "You're with me." Dustin didn't like the sound of that.

"Eric!" Taylor said loudly. She launched herself at him, looking like she was going to beat him severely for taking over her position. Eric turned around and caught her as she ran at him. He flipped her over his shoulder so that she landed on her back and twisted at the last moment to catch her so she didn't hit the ground full-force. "Okay," Taylor said, blinking. "We'll go do laundry."

Dustin's jaw dropped. Someone who could make Taylor go along with his plan that easily was not someone to be reckoned with. Taylor pushed herself to her feet and mouthed something at Eric. He narrowed his eyes at her.

The next thing Dustin knew, Eric had grabbed the shoulder of his shirt and was dragging him towards the SUV, with a quick, "Come on," prefacing the incident.

"Are you sure it's a good idea to leave the girls behind?" he asked as he was deposited near the back door of the SUV.

"No," Eric responded.

"Then why are we leaving them?"

Eric didn't answer, just opened the tailgate of the SUV. He lifted up a carpet with the faint tear of Velcro, revealing a secret compartment in the back. He opened it and Dustin stared at the mass amounts of guns in there—both laser guns and real guns.

"What do you do in your spare time?" Dustin sputtered. "Provide weapons for revolutions in small South American countries?"

He ignored that. "Look, Dustin," Eric said as he pulled out a shoulder weapons' harness and threw it at him. "I would take the girls, but we don't know anything about this lair. You can retreat into the earth if something untoward happens." Dustin wasn't going to ask how Eric knew about his special ninja power. "I've done infiltrations before and can normally get in and out without being detected. The girls can't do either. Until we know more about the lair, we go in there, but they don't."

"Is that why you took over?" he asked, as he adjusted the weapons' harness. "So that the girls wouldn't be hurt?"

"In a manner of speaking," was the evasive reply.

_ To Be Continued..._

* * *

**Author's Note:** There were obvious mixed reactions to the Eric/Taylor thing from the last chapter. Interesting... I will be doing reviewer responses for this chapter. I don't actually have a paper, poem or something else of that ilk due. (Not to mention personal memoirs...) Thanks for sticking with me here and for giving great comments. It makes me happy to know I have smart reviewers:) With that... reviewer responses...

**CamFan4Ever**- Thanks! I actually swiped that line from a Janet Evanovich book... :)

**cmar**- Thanks for your sweet comments! I see your point about the Eric/Taylor and Tori/Dustin parts. Hopefully, those sorts of things will be explained or resolved in coming chapters. (I hope...) But thanks for taking time to read this piece- I appreciate it lots:)

**fenestrae**- I'm glad you think so:)

**Funky In Fishnet**- I'm glad you liked the chapter and thanks for your kind words. And of course, I'll go check out your story. I'm always looking for something decent to read. :)

**Hagar**- I think Eric and Taylor deserve each other too. :) Glad you liked it! I didn't realize I was beating another subject to death... hmmm... I shall have to work to make sure that doesn't happen anymore. Thanks for pointing it out!

**Leslie**- I'm glad you liked it! I'm not entirely Lightspeed savvy so I wasn't sure about a love interest for Kelsey and opted to go the friendship route with her. (However, Lightspeed Rescue starts next week on ABC Family...) :)

**Samurai-Nashie**- Thanks, I think... :)


	19. Reinforcements

**Disclaimer:** If I owned them, would I be sitting here writing fan fiction?

**RESTLESS WARRIORS**

By Etcetera Kit

**Chapter Nineteen: Reinforcements**

Kelsey watched as Dustin and Eric trudged back into the camp site nearly five hours after Eric had outfitted them with enough weapons to overthrow the government of a small country and then had Dustin lead the way to where the demons' lair was. She had a feeling that the ancient bonds thing did not have to be between the people entering the lair—they just had to be protected by the bonds in some way. And all of them had blood to go by—or most of them did. She almost wanted to laugh at the small laser gun Dustin had strapped to his thigh in one of the nifty weapons' harnesses. It was the only gun he had ended up taking, since it 'point and shoot.' Both of them could morph as well. If Kelsey remembered anything about Eric, the two of them had probably morphed before going in. The extra weapons had been in case someone accidentally de-morphed during their process.

Once Eric and Dustin had left the camp site, Taylor had explained what she believed to be Eric's reasoning behind the two men going on the scouting expedition. It made sense, but still didn't excuse Eric coming in and taking over. But, after five hours, Kelsey was pretty sure the girls had calmed down enough to listen to whatever the two boys found. They had also talked about sleeping arrangements. (Eric had gotten time off from work, seeing as he was the co-commander and the boss's son was a close friend.) Eric had yet to find out that he and Dustin were sharing a tent. Taylor was anticipating a laughable reaction. Kelsey was anticipating burying some bodies.

Dustin just looked… tired as the two of them came back to camp. Eric had a neutral expression on his face, expertly masking if he was tired or scared or anxious or a whole plethora of emotions that he could be feeling. Dustin collapsed onto the picnic table bench, burying his head in his arms. Eric slapped a handful of crudely drawn maps down onto the center of the table.

"What's all this?" Kelsey asked. The others—Taylor, Maya and Kira—were out collecting firewood for that night's campfire (or nights to follow). They had ten days until the ceremony was supposed to go forth.

"Maps," Eric replied, smoothly sitting on the bench across from Dustin and Kelsey. He picked up the sheet on top. "General map of the whole lair." He rifled through the sheets. "There's a huge cabinet that they keep most of the herbs and crap in. We tried to label it as best we could. It's the only place that they keep that stuff. It'd be easy enough to get in there and switch out the things."

"Where there any guards?"

"The guards were put in bad places."

"I think that Owling dude is trying to throw off the spell subconsciously," Dustin said, his voice muffled as he spoke into the table.

"So can we get in?" Kelsey asked.

Eric gave her a bored look. "If me and him can get in there without anyone remotely suspecting us—in bright colored suits—then I think it's safe to assume that the rest of you can do it reasonably well."

"You guys were morphed?"

"Not taking any chances."

"Did you save the world?" came Taylor's annoyed voice. Eric turned around and narrowed his eyes at her.

"Bailing your ass out," Eric muttered under his breath so that only Kelsey and Dustin could hear him. Dustin snickered into the table. Kelsey suppressed a smile. "We got a layout of their lair," he said at normal volume to Taylor. "And I have told you my reasoning for making the four of you stay here."

"You didn't tell anyone else!" Taylor snapped.

"Was it too much to assume you would explain?" Eric retorted, his dark eyes burning dangerously. "I'm glad you're Wes' problem and not mine," he muttered.

"Excuse me?" Taylor asked, putting her armful of fire wood near their fire pit.

Eric snarled under his breath. "I said I'm glad you report to Wes and not me!"

Dustin propped his head up on the palm of his hand. "I'm seeing a love-hate relationship here," the Wind Ranger said with an evil grin.

"Thank you, Dr. Phil," Eric growled.

At the same time, Taylor snapped, "Shut your pie-hole."

Dustin just shook his head and buried his head in his arms once more. Kelsey gently patted his shoulder in silent support. Kira wandered over to the picnic table. "If those two don't kill each other, we might get something accomplished," she said in an undertone to them.

"I hear that," Kelsey muttered. Eric moved away from the picnic table, grabbing Taylor to help him take inventory of what was in the SUV.

"I could teach him how to dirt-dive," Dustin piped up suddenly. "He's Earth. He could learn how to do it before Halloween."

"Dustin," Kira started, sitting cross-legged on the table. "How do you identify that stuff in people?"

"What?"

"What element they are or if they're Thunder or something."

"It's all observation," Dustin said, propping his head up once more. "Eric is Earth because he always stays close to the ground in a battle or tense situations. Earth uses the lower ground to neutralize an enemy's mobility and so they can dirt-dive easier."

"How do you know what the rest of us are?"

Dustin glanced between Kelsey and Kira. He looked at Kira. "You're Thunder because you attack in short bursts and then retreat—like real thunder." He then turned to Kelsey. She was interested to hear this theory. "You are Water," he said pointing at her. "Because you keep moving in a battle. You flow from one move to the next. Like water." He ended with a quick bob of his head, like he was the expert on this.

And he was. The rest of them didn't know the first thing about ninjas or elements or becoming ninjas.

"So what are Maya and Taylor?" Kira asked, resting her chin on the back of her fingers.

Dustin thought for a moment. "Maya is Thunder," he said. "Taylor is a Samurai."

* * *

It was still early. Taylor suppressed a groan and looked around her tent. The others were still asleep and likely to remain that way for some time. There was a good reason she was the one sleeping by the door—she was normally the first one up. She quickly got out of her sleeping bag and changed into her jeans and a flannel shirt she had commandeered from Eric, before grabbing her shoes and moving out of the tent. There was a tarp under the tent so she had a fairly dry place to stop outside the tent and put her shoes on. 

The smell of coffee wafted towards her. Eric had brought coffee with him from Silver Hills. Looking up, she saw Eric had indeed made coffee on the propane grill and was reading one of the comic books she and Dustin had bought on that outing to Mariner Bay. She smiled, crossed her arms over her chest and went over to him.

"Morning," he said absently. "Want some coffee?"

She didn't reply, just located one of the tin cups from the huge plastic box on the bench and poured herself a cup of coffee. She took a sip. It was pretty good considering they were out camping and it had been made over a propane stove.

"This isn't bad," she commented, pulling one of the lawn chairs next to the one Eric was sitting in.

"Experience," he replied.

"I didn't know you read comic books."

He looked up at her for the first time that morning, the hint of a smile tugging at his lips. "I don't," he said. "I used to though." He paused and looked thoughtful. "I think my mother passed down all of my comic books to my younger brothers and then she probably threw them out when no one read them anymore."

"How many siblings _do_ you have?" Taylor asked. He never mentioned a specific number of siblings he had. He would talk about his family in general or an unnamed younger brother or sister. The only person she knew for certain was Keith, his older brother, who was something like a Rear Admiral in the Navy.

"Seven."

Taylor nearly choked on the sip of coffee she had just taken. "Seven?" she sputtered.

Eric just smiled at her surprise. "My parents are extremely traditional Catholics—no birth control. I have an older brother, two younger brothers and four younger sisters."

"What do they all do?"

"Well," Eric said, like he knew this was going to be a long story. "Keith's in the navy. Jack still lives at home in the basement. And Eddie's either dead or in jail by now."

"Don't keep in contact with him?"

"He doesn't keep in contact with us." He paused. "Three of my four sisters are all married, barefoot and pregnant. Theresa is the black sheep. She went to New York and became VP for Marketing or something for some ritzy company. My parents disowned her because she became a lesbian in the process."

"Wow," Taylor said softly.

"Why do you think I don't talk to them any more than I have to?"

"And I thought I had it bad with the older brother and younger sister being part of a stereotypical American family." She paused. "Until my folks got divorced."

"Try being the Brady Bunch," Eric muttered.

Taylor just smiled and shook her head. Eric never tended to show this side of himself—a side that was empathetic and enjoyed sharing childhood memories. She had always known it was there, but he had put up so many barriers that it was hard for him to express it. How much did his field trip with Dustin yesterday contribute to this change of heart? Since Dustin didn't come back in tears or mad, she assumed that Eric had gotten the lecture.

She glanced down at his left hand in the gray, misty morning. It was unbelievable that they were engaged—and he had actually bought himself a ring. She had always imagined him to be the type never to wear a wedding band. And no one had asked questions. Well, yesterday had been kind of hectic and Eric hadn't been around much, so no one could put two and two together. Everyone had also calmed down from yesterday and accepted that Eric had the most experience when it came to invading buildings—albeit not demon temples. He was commander of a private elite police force.

She was drawn from her thoughts at the sound of a car coming through the camp sites. It was still early for people to be packing up and leaving, wasn't it? And it was too early for people to be getting a start on their camping trip. Who was this? The red Mustang pulled up to their camp site.

"Who the hell is that?" Eric muttered.

"I don't know," she shot back.

The car engine turned off and two people got out of the car. Taylor vaguely recognized the blonde girl as having been a Ninja Storm Ranger. The boy, however, she did not recognize at all. He was tall and athletic looking with a shock of brown hair that looked like it had been purposely styled to appear all over the place. He was wearing a red t-shirt along with a jean jacket. The girl was wearing a powder blue sweater that actually looked decent on her.

"Hey!" the boy said, approaching them. All right, so he wasn't a boy. He looked like he was old enough to be in college, but just barely.

"And you are?" Eric asked, adopting his 'cop' face.

"I'm Conner," he replied. "This is Tori," he added, gesturing to the girl. "We're here to see Kira and Dustin."

Tori… she had been the Blue Ninja Storm Ranger. "They're still sleeping," Taylor replied motioning towards the tents. "However, you can risk it and try to wake them up."

"Conner?"

Taylor looked towards the tents. Kira was coming out of the girl's tent, rubbing her eyes and giving Conner the strangest look. If Taylor was to surmise things correctly, Conner had been a Dino Thunder Ranger. And he had probably been the red ranger if his choice of clothing color and car color were anything to go by.

"What are you doing here?" Kira asked him.

Conner shoved his hands in his pockets and smiled self-consciously. "I decided you guys needed more man power than what you had." He paused and nodded towards Tori. "I gave Tori a call and asked her if she wanted to come along."

Taylor had a suspicion that pieces of information—like the fact that Dustin had been going to see Tori—had been exchanged between Kira and Conner. Eric didn't look like he was particularly happy with the prospect of sharing the already too small tent with another male, especially someone as tall as Conner.

"Tori?"

Dustin had been coming out of his tent and tripped, falling flat on his face. Taylor snickered into her cup of coffee. It didn't ever seem to be dull around here.

* * *

"Can you explain to me what exactly it is we're doing?" 

Maya smiled and turned to Conner's question. He didn't look entirely comfortable with the idea of standing around a campfire, summoning spirits. Kira gave his hand a reassuring squeeze—a gesture that did not go unnoticed by the older yellow ranger. Their relationship was obviously very new. They might have been close friends in the past, but there was much that separated close friends and… something more.

"We're going to call upon Trini," she replied matter-of-factly.

"Why though?" he continued. "I mean aren't we sure of what we're doing?"

"Nothing is sure," Maya replied. "You three have decided to join our ranks. The spirit realm must be informed."

Conner didn't look entirely convinced. Eric looked dead on his feet—probably from the idea he got in his head that everyone needed to learn how to shoot the real guns he had and problems abounded when people moved from revolvers to automatics. Tori was just huddled close to Dustin. Those two reminded Maya of young puppies, experiencing something completely over their heads and clinging to each other for something familiar. She was not sure what the exact relationship between the two was—no one was. Her brown-eyed gaze went to Taylor who was standing near Eric, but not close enough to suggest something more. Eric reached up with his left hand and ran it through his black hair. The small glint of gold was enough to tell Maya everything that had been going on behind closed doors.

Maya circled the fire and threw a handful of her 'dust' on the flames. She then motioned to Conner. He stepped forward, looking uncertain.

"I call on the spirit of the Yellow Ranger that has gone beyond. I call on her for guidance in this moment of confusion." She took a small pocket knife from her belt and made a cut in her finger. A drop of blood fell onto the flames with a faint 'hiss.' She then turned to Conner whose brow was furrowed in doubt. "Trust me," she whispered. He sighed and allowed her to cut his finger so that a drop of blood fell on the flames. She then repeated the gesture with Eric and, finally, Tori.

Tiny blue lights rose from the fire and formed into a shape on the opposite side of the fire from where they were. "A wish made with blood is an offering to those who have gone beyond," Trini intoned as she appeared. Zordon appeared beside her. Maya smiled—these were just the people they needed to talk to.

"I see you have company," Zordon commented in his rich, warm voice.

"We do," Maya replied.

The other yellow rangers were unimpressed with the events. Conner was looking at the pair like he felt like he had just lost his mind. Tori's mouth was open as she gaped at them. Eric just blinked.

"Oh, there's another one," he muttered.

"More rangers," Zordon continued, his tone musing. "I know that this task had been assigned to the yellow rangers, but these three are connected to you by the ancient bonds. In a way, they are extensions of yourselves." He paused and gave the three newcomers appraising looks. "This could well work to your advantage."

"Ancient bonds?" Conner asked faintly.

"Love, friendship, passion and blood," Trini informed him. He nodded, but then looked confused. Trini just laughed. "Each of you is protected by these bonds. However, you three are connected to three of the yellow rangers by a bond." She smiled. "Conner, you have a close friendship with Kira—it could become love, if you allow it to grow."

"How do you know my name?"

Trini just gave him a serene look, shaking her head. "We know much about Power Rangers." She paused and turned to Eric, who looked like he had seen enough weird stuff to last him for a lifetime. "Eric, you and Taylor share the bond of love." Eric still had a blank look on his face. Trini turned to Tori. "Tori, you and Dustin have a close friendship, but passion on top of that. You are well-protected."

Maya was expecting someone to comment on Trini's words, even in a flippant fashion, but no one did. She smiled to herself. It was a mark of the respect they now shared. Zordon stepped towards Conner, Tori and Eric.

"I have the power to give you three your powers back," Zordon said. "However, like the others, it would only be for the duration of this mission."

"Got mine, thanks," Eric said, holding up the wrist with his morpher.

Zordon didn't say anything. Blue lights went forward like they had for Kira, Taylor and Dustin what seemed like a lifetime ago. A large silver bracelet, like Kira's but with a red gem, appeared on Conner's wrist. A morpher appeared on Tori's wrist, but it was blue and appeared in tune to her water powers whereas, Dustin's was yellow and for his earth powers.

"You have all chosen well," Zordon said cryptically. "We must leave you now. There are matters in the spirit realm to attend to." He paused with a fond look for all of them. "May the power protect you."

With that, he and Trini disappeared into the blue sparkles they had come from.

"We should have someone keep an eye on their lair," Eric said, kind of absently.

Taylor frowned at him. "Do you ever quit with the strategic crap?"

"You know what they say," he replied. "Hold your friends close, but hold your enemies closer."

"That's not bad advice," Conner commented.

Maya gazed at them. These two men, while different in experience and temperament, were similar. Both them had eyes only for their love and they both saw the value of planning ahead and learning strategy. She had a feeling that Conner had recently matured into that—and that Eric had probably gone through a similar phase when he was younger.

"We should turn in," Kelsey said.

"I think I'm sleeping in my car," Eric muttered.

"That's not your car," Taylor stated. "That's the Silver Guardians car you decided to borrow for the week."

"Yeah and Wes knows I have it. Is there a problem?" he snapped back. "If he needs the sucker, I can shuffle cars and get it back there."

"Are they married?" Kira asked softly.

Maya smiled and shook her head. "I think it's only a matter of time."

Kira rolled her eyes. "I'll help you put out the fire."

The others began to wander back towards the tents and start whatever their ritual for getting ready for bed was. Maya and Kira let the fire burn down to embers and then began to put the embers out. The white smoke rose into the night sky in a swirling pattern. She had mixed feelings about their mission—it was as if they would succeed, but at a terrible cost. 

_To Be Continued..._


	20. Protectors of the Right

**Disclaimer:** Belongs to Disney. However, my Conner action figure belongs to me.

**RESTLESS WARRIORS**

By Etcetera Kit

**Chapter Twenty: Protectors of the Right**

The morning of Halloween dawned cool and clear. It felt misleading—the warm sun and mild weather. He felt like should have been stormy and dark, fitting with the mood of what was happening. They had decided that the best thing to do would be to switch the herbs and plants out this morning. If it were done earlier, someone would likely detect it. Today, there was not enough time to correct the error, even if it were detected. It ensured the success of their plan along with limiting the number of potential casualties. It also eliminated a full-on battle.

Dustin hated to admit it, but the plan was coming together. Their only challenge now would be to get into the lair and complete the swap without anyone finding out about them until it was too late. That would get interesting.

There were only four of them going into the actual lair. He, Eric, Kelsey and Maya got that happy task. Taylor and Kira were to be stationed somewhere along the tunnel, so that, if a firefight occurred, they could hear it and provide back-up to the people in the lair. Conner and Tori stayed by their entrance to the labyrinth—the idea being Kira could contact Conner if they needed even more back-up, but those two were removed enough to get away if something dire happened and they needed more than they had. Tori could go to the Wind Ninja Academy in the blink of an eye and return with enough ninjas to go on a rescue mission.

Trying to calm the nervous churning of his stomach, he accepted the mug of coffee Eric offered him and sat down at the picnic table. He glanced down at his amulet—Maya had made Eric, Tori and Conner amulets as well. He didn't know what to expect or what to find in that lair. The initial trip he and Eric had taken had been uneventful—almost like someone was trying to lure them into a false sense of security.

Eric looked at his watch and stood up. "It's time."

Dustin nodded, glad he hadn't eaten anything because he would have thrown it up. He glanced to Tori. She looked scared, but determined. What had possessed her and Conner to come help them was beyond him, but it was good to have some kindred spirits.

"Everyone knows the plan?" Taylor asked.

Heads bobbed in affirmation. Dustin fought down the sick feeling rising in his throat. This was no different from other times, why was he so afraid? The spirit realm—Zordon—they trusted them and there was no reason to think that they wouldn't succeed.

After going through the SUV, Eric had enough laser guns to give everyone in case someone de-morphed. The theory would be that the person would still have a means of protecting himself or herself until the others, who hopefully were still morphed, could come to their rescue. Dustin quickly took his laser gun and put it into a weapons' harness that Eric had given him. He then double-checked it to make sure that the safety was. The safety on a laser gun was easy enough to release in a hurry—it was also the reason everyone had laser guns. Eric didn't trust anyone with real guns with bullets, especially with the automatics he had.

They walked over to the entrance in silence. Dustin sighed, wishing he was at his apartment or Storm Chargers. On Halloween at Storm Chargers, they dressed up for the customers and passed out free candy along with having all the Disney Channel TV specials going all day. It was fun, more fun than this.

No one looked comfortable as they came upon the entrance. Kira bent over it and quickly made the handles appear. It still amazed Dustin how that thing worked—like something out of a fantasy movie.

Eric nodded to Conner and Tori. "You two stay here, unmorphed," he said.

They nodded and helped lift the cover from its hiding place. Eric dropped quickly inside the tunnel and everyone save Tori and Conner followed suit. Once the six of them were standing in the tunnel, Taylor gave the signal to morph.

"Go galactic!"

"Lightspeed rescue!"

"Quantum power!"

"Wild access!"

"Ninja storm—ranger form!"

"Dino thunder, power up!"

The six of them appeared morphed. Eric looked slightly out of place in his red uniform amidst a sea of yellow. Dustin couldn't help but think that they weren't all that inconspicuous, running around in colored suits. Then again, the yellow might blend more with the torchlight, making them unseen for a moment, which would give them time to run or retaliate. It was worth a thought—he hadn't paid attention to how much his suit showed up when he and Eric had been in here before.

Tori lowered down the backpack that had their replacement herbs in it. Maya took it and strapped it to her back. She then pulled out her Quasar Saber, holding it in a ready position at her side. He glanced at her and noticed that, unlike other generations of rangers, she didn't have a small blaster at her side.

"Let's go," Taylor said. There was a note of fear in her voice.

They began their journey down the tunnel. The daylight grew dimmer and the darkness seemed to press in on them. Dustin took a deep breath, fully understanding the caution against fear of closed spaces in the riddle. It remained dark until they hit the place where the torches began to automatically come on with their presence. He had been right. The yellow uniforms seemed kind of washed out against the stone and yellow light. They stayed in the shadows cast by the torches.

Eric signaled for Taylor and Kira to stay here, within earshot in case of a problem, but far enough away to get help if needed. They two of them nodded and pulled out their blasters. They took up positions on either side of the hallway, facing each other. Taylor had the direction they were going and Kira had the direction from whence they came.

He, Eric, Maya and Kelsey continued moving down the hallway. Dustin's heart was hammering in his chest. He hoped that no one could hear that, although it wouldn't surprise him to find out that demons could. He felt like nothing could surprise him about the demons, but their presence… that would be scary. The torches continued to come on until they hit the section that had constant torchlight. The dim light reflected off the cold stones, distorting their shadows grotesquely. Eric pulled his blaster from its holster. Dustin followed suit and pulled out his ninja sword, putting it in blaster mode. No one knew how much good blasters would do against demons—they probably would have been better off with holy water and stakes. Eric motioned for them to get against the walls and continue moving against the walls.

Soon, they came to the balcony that looked over the main temple. There was no movement in the temple. Swallowing, Dustin felt Maya come up beside him.

* * *

Maya came up beside Dustin. He pointed past the balcony to a small staircase going down. She nodded and moved forward. Eric and Dustin had taken them through the map of the place several times, so she felt confident that she knew what she was looking for. Dustin followed her down the staircase. Glancing back, she saw that Kelsey came after him and Eric brought up the rear, spotting for anything that might follow them. Things were quiet—a little too quiet considering that the demons had to start their ceremony tonight and, as far as they could tell, they didn't have a human sacrifice. She didn't like the fact that things were this quiet, but there was no turning back now. This had to be done and now was the only time.

She felt a hand on her shoulder. Whirling around, she saw that it was only Dustin. He pointed down the staircase and to a small wooden door near the bottom. She nodded and moved forward, grasping the handle of the door and swinging it open. She found herself in a small supply room that was right off the main temple. Dustin then pointed to the large wooden cabinet. Maya nodded and moved forward with the backpack and opened the doors, looking at the various herbs. Kelsey came up beside her to help. Dustin took his position at the side door of this room that led directly into the temple. Eric's post was at the door they had entered from.

The silence and the lack of movement was downright frightening. Her hands shook as she pulled the carefully labeled bags from the backpack. She looked at the jars before her. She would have to go by sight on most of these, since the labels were more of the demon writing. Picking up the first jar on the left, she twisted it open. It was nightshade. She put the nightshade into a larger trash bag they had brought for getting rid of the unwanted herbs and replaced it with some ground mint leaves that Dustin had ground for her earlier. The smell was much the same and no one would notice.

The demon-herbs were slowly replaced by good ones. One of the jars held some fur. Maya looked at that, pretty sure what it was. She dumped it into the bag and found a bag with some cat fur in it. (Dana had a cat and Kelsey had collected hair from the cat once their plan of replacing the herbs had been finalized.) Another jar held something that looked like rocks. She dumped the rocks and replaced it with rocks she had found by the lake.

"Hurry," Eric hissed.

"Is something coming?" Kelsey shot back.

"No. But the sooner we get out of here, the better."

Maya let out a long breath, willing herself to quit shaking. Kelsey quickly nudged her and handed her the next bag of herbs. Sprigs of cloves… to replace the herbs that the demons had that looked like miniature pigs' feet. A part of her knew that was what it might actually be, but she didn't want to think about it.

She came to the last jar on the second shelf. This one had to be replaced with the grated orange peels. She looked through the backpack. "Where are the orange peels?" she hissed.

Kelsey rifled through the backpack. "I don't know. We'll have to do without."

"We need to replace it!"

"Just dump out the jar and let's hope they don't notice."

Maya didn't like that, but there was nothing else to be done for it. She just dumped out the jar and replaced it on the shelf. She then went through the third shelf quickly. As she was starting the fourth shelf, Dustin turned into the room.

"Company in the temple," he whispered. "Hurry!"

Maya willed herself to go faster. It would have been easier to get the bags open if she hadn't had gloves from being morphed and if her fingers weren't shaking. Sounds of people shuffling through the temple hit her ears.

"Where's the human?" a voice asked.

"He'll be here." There was a pause. "In fact, I think he's here now."

"Fuck," Eric muttered.

Dustin backed away from the door and into the close comfort that the room could offer. Maya dumped out the last jar and replaced it with her herbs. "Done!" she said.

"Thank God!" Eric replied.

Kelsey zipped up the backpack and Maya pulled it onto her shoulders. They would have to dispose of the demon-herbs later, but now was not the time. She picked up her Quasar Saber from the floor, where she had left it.

A sudden blast from Eric's entrance got their attention.

Eric was pushing the stone door shut. "We're surrounded!" he hissed.

"We can't get out through the temple!" Kelsey shot back.

Everyone was still for a moment. Kelsey produced her V-Lancer. Eric moved a setting on his Quantum Defender. Dustin had shut the other door leading to the temple and held his blaster like his life depended on it.

"Let's go!" Eric ordered, motioning towards his door.

He pushed open the door and fired a couple of rounds of laser fire into the hall. Smoke and screeching was the result. "Let's move," he said, stepping out into the hallway.

Eric went first, firing at anything in their way. The resulting train covered each other as they moved forward, through a sudden wall of demons. Maya had never seen more things appear at one time—it was like they were coming out of the walls, which they probably were.

"Can we destroy these things?" Eric yelled at Kelsey.

"Yes!" she yelled back. "But it takes more than one shot. Aim for the head!"

The laser fire grew thicker as they made their way to the staircase. Maya realized going up the staircase would be interesting. There were demons on both sides of them if that became the case. She fought off a demon with her saber. A sudden blast of energy came and hit them in the middle, causing the group to split momentarily.

"Batlings," Kelsey muttered.

"Friends of yours?" Eric yelled at her.

"Friends of Vypra's."

"You think you can get away with this with so little effort?" A cold, cruel voice said in a sneering tone.

The four of them froze. A tall man with pale blonde hair stood at the doorway of the small storage room. This had to be Jareth. Maya felt like she was the only one who hadn't seem him and she pitied those who had earlier encounters with him. Pure evil radiated from him.

"You think that is the only store room?" he sneered.

No one had a response to that.

Jareth raised a finger with a long nail and pointed it at Dustin. Eric had his Quantum Defender armed and aimed at the demon. Maya held her saber at the ready.

"Give me him," Jareth said slowly. "And the rest of you keep your lives."

* * *

Kira paused at the sound of echoing footsteps down the hallway. She strained through the dim torchlight to see what was going on. Shadows ran ahead of their owners. She exchanged a glance with Taylor. This did not look good.

"Kira!" someone down the hall screamed. "Get Conner and Tori!"

Without giving her mind time to react, she pulled her morpher to her mouth. "Conner?" she said into it, her voice sounding panicked.

"Kira?" he replied.

"Morph and get down here! We need help."

"On it."

She let out a long breath and adjusted her grip on her blaster. This was going to get ugly from the sounds coming from down the tunnel. It sounded like a full-on battle was going on down there, between the demons' snarling and people yelling.

"Should we get down there?" she asked Taylor.

The Wild Force Ranger shook her head. "Wait. They can handle this for now." She paused. "We wait for Tori and Conner. When we go in, the numbers will double and we'll have a better chance. No one will be tired."

None of them would be tired. It made sense, but it didn't stop her from wanting to run down the tunnel and throw herself into whatever battle was going on to give what help she could. Footsteps echoed down the other direction. She whirled around and caught a glimpse of red and blue moving towards them.

Conner had his blaster out and ready to go. Tori was holding something that looked a lot like a sword—it probably was a sword. She couldn't see their facial expressions from underneath their helmets, but it didn't matter. This wasn't good and seeing someone's expression wasn't going to make that any better.

Taylor motioned to them with her blaster. "Let's go," she stated.

Kira took the right side of the tunnel with Conner flanking her. Taylor and Tori took the other side, moving cautiously towards the sounds of a battle. Kira drew in a deep breath. This felt like it was slowly spiraling out of their control. She had never fought demons before—and she was pretty sure everyone with her was in the same boat. Demons didn't seem the same as Tyranno-drones and Triptoids and Kelzacks. In fact, it seemed worse since the assumption would be that… they couldn't beat the things. She went to the movies and most movies featured demons and ghosts that wouldn't go away.

"Get them!" an unearthly voice screeched.

Kira inwardly froze. She had heard that voice before. Vypra… She could feel Conner close behind her. She glanced sideways at Tori and Taylor. If Vypra had joined the fray… then this wasn't good. That particular demon and Jareth were not ones she wanted to tangle with in some battle. Both of them seemed powerful, just not overly bright about how to use it. But when someone threatened them… watch out.

"Try to contact Dustin," Taylor said to Tori.

The Blue Wind Ranger raised her morpher to her mouth. "Dustin?" She paused and there was no response. "Dustin?"

"Tori?"

"Where are you?"

"I'm-" But he was cut off by something.

They started to move faster down the tunnel, the noise becoming greater with each and every step. A red laser blast filled the tunnel, causing some rubble to fall from the ceiling. If they hit something the wrong way in this tunnel, would it collapse? It was starting to look like a distinct possibility.

"Eric!" Taylor yelled. "Don't fire in the tunnel!"

"It's a little late for that!" came Eric's snippy reply.

The dust seemed to settle and the battle came into full view. Eric was in the midst of demons of all shapes and sizes, including some that looked curiously like bats. Further down the tunnel, Maya could be seen hacking away at the demons with her saber. The battle seemed to rage all the way down the tunnel. Two yellow figures in the distance appeared to be Kelsey and Dustin at work on freeing themselves.

Kira fired at the demon closest to her. It went down, stunned. What was going on? Did these demons become stunned from laser fire? She hoped so.

"Kira! Conner!" Eric was yelling through his battling. "Find Dustin and get him out of here!"

She knew what that meant. A sinking feeling hit the pit of her stomach. Dustin should not have been one of the ones to go into the temple. Jareth had been only too clear that he wanted Dustin for the sacrifice and if they captured him… she wasn't going to think about it.

"We can't get through!" Conner called as he fired at the demons.

"Yes, we can." Kira concentrated her energy. "Super dino mode!" she called. She jumped off from the ground, grabbing Conner's arm. They rose above the fray just enough that she could move them down the tunnel towards Dustin, uninterrupted.

"Warn me next time," Conner cried.

Hopefully, there wouldn't be a next time. She continued to fly and dropped them down into the midst of a battle that Kelsey and Dustin were quickly losing. She fired at one of the demons holding Dustin's leg. It squeaked and bounced away. Dustin turned to see her.

"Thanks," he called.

"Thank me later," she muttered.

Kira converted her blaster into a saber and helped get the demons away from Kelsey as they swarmed around her. Dustin suddenly split—there were two of him. The effect of that was short-lived as a blast of power hit him, causing him to go back to one. Two demons jumped on him when he was down.

"Stop!"

Suddenly, Kira found herself face to face with Jareth and Owling. The latter had a cold, hard glint in his brown eyes. She imagined he would be nicer if… "Owling!" she cried, running up to the fairy gone bad. "Stop this! You're good. You're one of us! You can stop this!"

A blast of energy hit her squarely in the chest, causing her to fly backwards.

"Kira!" Conner yelled, running to help her up.

"Fools," Jareth hissed.

A cloud of smoke enveloped them. When it disappeared, all the demons had gone with it. She, Conner and Kelsey stood, dumbfounded, looking at each other. Footsteps of the others came to her ears slowly.

"Where's Dustin?" Taylor asked.

"They've got him," Conner replied.

Kira felt her heart sink. The nightmare had begun.

_ To Be Continued..._

* * *

**Author's Note:** I'm starting to fully appreciate my Creative Nonfiction class. We're working on personal essays- issue driven pieces written creatively. I'm debunking the theory that violence on television makes children more aggressive with childhood memories of me and my brothers watching MMPR. It's fun... But thanks to everyone who's reviewed. You guys rock my socks! Also, if someone wants to recommend a story to me or wants me to check out their story, then let me know. I'm always looking for something to read:) Thanks-EK 


	21. Sworn To Fight

**Disclaimer:** 'Power Rangers' is copyright of Disney. No infringement is intended.

**RESTLESS WARRIORS**

By Etcetera Kit

**Chapter Twenty-One: Sworn To Fight **

It was cold and his arms hurt. Dustin slowly blinked. The last thing he remembered was trying to get away from the demons and then that cloud of smoke. Things ended there and came back to now. He struggled, realizing that his hands were chained above his head. He was no longer morphed and he was bare from the waist up. Turning his head as much as his position would allow, he realized that his morpher was gone. Looking down, he saw his amulet missing. Dirt streaked his torso, like someone had dragged him here.

God, he hurt!

Where was he? He had a sinking feeling that he was in a part of the temple that he and Eric had been unable to find. He knew there had been something more than the seemingly simple lay-out they had discovered. No… the others wouldn't leave him here. They would come find him and get him away from here.

The rusty iron door in front of him screeched open. His ears hurt from the noise. An icy hand closed around his heart when he saw Vypra entered. Another demon came in after her, pushing a cart. He strained to see what was on the cart, but Vypra and the demon kept it out of his view.

"How does it feel to be the instrument for our success?" Vypra said in a low mocking tone. She smiled, revealing pointed teeth.

Dustin struggled against the chains, but his awkward position did not allow him room to maneuver. And it just made Vypra and the demon laugh. He stopped struggling, allowing his aching body to rest. His arms felt like they had been pulled out of socket.

"What are you going to do to me?" he asked, his voice trembling.

The demon princess just smiled. "You shall see."

Dustin closed his eyes, trying to take a steadying breath. He wanted to scream, but he didn't. He was ninja and ninjas had honor. He would not show fear. He would not show this demon that he was weak.

_Sensei…_ he thought. _I need your help._

No words of wisdom floated down to him. He knew he needed to trust that the others would find him. He needed to trust himself to survive whatever lay ahead.

Vypra and the demon moved, revealing what was on the cart. Black spots danced before his eyes and his stomach churned. Knives… of all shapes and sizes… what the hell was she going to do with the knives?

"I'm sorry it has to be this way," Vypra said in mock sympathy.

"Go to hell," he snapped through clenched teeth.

"I've been there," she replied, smiling. "It's quite nice this time of year."

She went over to the knives and made a big show out of selecting one. Dustin wanted to close his eyes and pretend this wasn't happening, but his body wouldn't respond. His eyes remained fixed on the lethal blade that was headed towards him. The knife she picked was long and sharp, the blade carefully honed. It looked like a weapon he might have chosen as a ninja, but there was something evil about the black-wood handle.

"You are our sacrifice," Vypra whispered, admiring the knife.

"I know that," he said, giving her a defiant stare.

She gave him a bored look. "You have to have certain things done first… and we just couldn't have that amulet or morpher getting in the way. You understand?"

"I understand that you're insane."

She smiled like poisonous honey. "Insanity is not the greatest of my worries." She flicked the blade close to his skin. "This ceremony will go off without a hitch and you will be the one to help me."

The knife came closer to his skin. His breathing became shallow as he knew what was about to happen to him. She was prolonging it, playing with him, just to show how cruel and sadistic she was. Whatever she was going to do… she needed to do it.

He felt the first prick of the knife, as it was dragged in a shallow path along his abdomen. It wasn't enough to penetrate his organs, but it hurt like hell. She was tracing a line of fire across his stomach. He fought the urge to scream as blood seeped behind the knife's trail. No… he would not scream.

Closing his eyes, Maya's words came back to him. _Should our blood be spilt, the other yellow rangers will come to our aide._

'Please,' he thought. 'Help me.'

Blackness danced before his eyes once more. The web was being called to life.

_ "Doctor?"_

_ The veterinarian, wearing a yellow tank top under her white lab coat turned to her assistant. The younger woman looked worried._

_ "Are you all right, Dr. Campbell?"_

_ "I'm fine. Just a headache."_

_ But she couldn't help but feel that someone was calling to her. How?_

Another knife slash. He wanted to sleep. Sleep would be his reprieve from all the pain. Sleep or death… he wanted either one.

_"Tanya?"_

_ A teacher in a teacher's lounge, wearing a yellow blouse, stopped massaging her temples and looked up at the other teacher who had just walked in the lounge._

_ "What's up, Sherry?" she asked._

_ "You don't look so hot."_

_ "I haven't felt well. I've got a really bad headache."_

_ "Hope you feel better."_

_ "Me too."_

_ A voice was telling her to help, but she didn't know who or what._

His body was numb. He no longer felt the pain, only a floating lightness. He was afraid to look, to see what Vypra had done to him.

_"Ashley, are you all right?"_

_ "I'm fine Andros."_

_ "I've never seen a headache get to you this much."_

_ "Andros, really, it's all right. I'll be fine."_

_ Her husband gave her one last worried look before leaving the bedroom. She curled up into their bed, wondering why she felt like someone was calling to her._

He felt sleepy. Vypra was still standing before him, but he no longer registered what she was doing or what that other demon was doing. Where had he gone to?

_"Katie, maybe you should see the medic. No one should have headaches that badly."_

_ "Trip, I'll be all right."_

_ "Do you think it might be… Wes?"_

_ "No." She paused. "Don't worry about me, Trip."_

_ The green-haired man left the room. The young woman put her head down on her arms as she back behind her desk. She had never had a headache this badly before, but she was afraid to take something for it. Behind the pain she felt a voice calling to her. Someone was in pain, but she couldn't make out who._

Vypra was moving away from him now, picking up another knife. He didn't care. He had gone long beyond feeling anything.

_"Z, maybe you should take it easy. I mean Sky and Crugger will understand if you take the rest of the day off."_

_ "Jack! I can't just take off. I'm supposed to be here."_

_ "Yeah, but you're not much good if you're in pain."_

_ "I'll be fine." She paused. "Go on. I'll catch up with you."_

_ She watched Jack take off around the track to finish his laps. God, her head hurt and she didn't know what was going on. She took a sip of her water. Why did she feel like someone, somewhere, needed her?_

He was vaguely aware of Vypra and the demon leaving, of the door to his cell closing in its normal screeching grate. His vision was clouded in a red haze. His eyes closed and he drifted off into oblivion.

* * *

"Let me get this straight. You have Dustin in your sight and then Jareth creates a cloud of smoke. When it clears, Dustin is gone? Is that about right?"

"Yeah, that's about right," Kira replied in a dejected tone.

Eric shook his head and continued pacing a rut in the dirt by the picnic table. "This complicates things," he muttered.

"Well," Taylor interjected, tired of his pacing and muttering. "It means that our idea of replacing the herbs won't work because they have more. Now, we have to flat-out attack them in order to save Dustin and stop the ceremony."

"What about the ninjas?" Kelsey asked.

"There's not enough time," Eric replied. "We can't risk their lives."

Taylor watched as Eric went back to his pacing. For a man who had spent time in the Marines and was the currently the co-commander of an elite police force, he sure had a lot of nervous energy. They all knew that her idea was the only plan left. They needed to get into their lair and take them by surprise. It was their only chance at freeing Dustin. Without a human sacrifice, the ceremony wouldn't go forth. Prolonging the inevitable was not going to help here.

Her blue-eyed gaze went to the others. Kelsey looked miserable and shaken. Maya had a neutral expression on her face, but it was clear that she was thinking. Kira and Conner were pale, sitting close to each other. Tori was by herself—her expression portraying the full misery of her feelings.

"We go in," Taylor decided to speak up again. "But we don't do it until sunset. That way, we rescue Dustin and stop the ceremony." She paused. "And there won't be time for them to get another human."

"Sunset!" Tori sputtered. "They could have killed him by then."

"Not likely," Taylor responded. "They need him as a sacrifice. You ever heard of anyone killing something before the sacrifice?"

"It's his energy that would aid the spell," Maya added. "They can gather his energy at the point of death. If they kill him before the ceremony, they wouldn't be able to use his energy to their purposes."

"Is this supposed to make me feel better?" Tori snapped.

"No," Taylor retorted, rolling her eyes. "It's explaining our logic."

The former Blue Wind Ranger's eyes filled with tears. Taylor gave her a neutral expression as Eric stopped pacing to see what Tori's problem was. Tori bit her lip and stood up roughly. She walked quickly out of the camp site.

"What's her problem?" Eric questioned blandly.

"I think her and Dustin are little closer than meets the eye," Maya replied. "Just like you and Taylor are closer than meets the eye."

"What are you talking about?" Eric asked, his eyes narrowing dangerously.

Maya just smiled and stood up. She crossed the distance separating her and Eric and tapped the plain gold band on his left ring finger. "If you don't want people to find out, you shouldn't wear your ring."

"Smart ass," the Quantum Ranger muttered.

"You guys are engaged?" Kira asked.

"Yeah," Eric replied simply and went back to pacing.

Taylor looked around for Tori. She was sitting in one of the stray lawn chairs by the fire pit, her shoulders shaking. Great, not only did they have to keep their wits about them to make sure Dustin didn't meet a fate worse than death, or death itself, they had an emotional teenager on their hands. Well, maybe not a teenager, but close enough to it. She ignored the idle exchange going on between Eric and Maya. Soon enough, Tori's shoulders quit shaking and she was still.

"I'll go talk to Tori," she said loudly, interrupting an argument about the virtues of guns that shot bullets as opposed to laser guns.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Maya asked. She had previously looked like it would be a good idea to find a skillet and beat Eric upside the head with it. Now, her brown eyes were filled with concern.

"Yeah," she replied shortly.

"Well, you're not exactly known for being empathetic and maternal," Kira suggested.

"I feel the love," she said sarcastically.

"Do whatever makes you happy," Eric said quickly, before going back to the argument with Maya.

Taylor shook her head at the bickering. Maya was not giving Eric the kind of fight he wanted—but it was better than no fight at all. She would let that bunch let off some steam and energy on their own. Perhaps they would be better focused in an hour or so. She hated to think about what was happening to Dustin, but, logically, their plan would work the best. He was strong—stronger than he knew. If anyone could survive that… well, she wasn't sure that anyone could. She headed for the fire pit towards Tori.

The other blonde looked miserable and tears streaked her face. She pulled up another lawn chair next to Tori, facing away from the group.

"Sorry about Eric," Taylor said. "I'm seriously thinking of telling his mother he has a porn collection hidden in his house." She paused. There was no response from Tori. "That was a joke," she added.

Tori smiled belatedly. "Sorry," she said.

They fell into silence as Taylor tried to think of a way to phrase her next question. "You and Dustin… you were more than friends, weren't you?"

The sadness in Tori's eyes was heartbreaking. "I honestly don't know," she replied. "I mean I'm still dating Blake, but then Dustin has to go off and act heroic and…" She sighed. "I love him, but I'm not sure in what way."

Taylor shrugged. "You guys used birth control, right?"

The shocked look Tori gave her was answer enough. It told her that she and Dustin had slept together and the concept of birth control had not entered either of their minds. "Oh no," Tori moaned. "This is not good." She suddenly paused and gave Taylor a sharp look. "What made you ask?"

"Sweetie, I've been sleeping with Eric long enough to tell when someone has entered that phase of a relationship."

"How?"

"It's a long and complicated story." She paused. "I'd rather not get into it, since Cole was the one who originated it."

Tori smiled vaguely. "I remember Cole," she said softly. "He looked so funny—lost in the woods trying to find Ninja Ops."

"Try having him around as your Red Ranger," she muttered in reply. Tori gave her a startled look. "He's a touchy-feely kind of a guy and I don't do touchy-feely."

"No wonder you and Eric get along so well."

"We'll see how well we get along once our families enter the picture."

This time, Tori genuinely laughed. Taylor smiled. There was something about dysfunctional families that made them a good neutral topic for all. She knew that Tori knew nothing about her family or Eric's family, but it had made her smile just with the insinuation.

"Come on," she said. "Let's get back to the others before Eric strangles Maya or Maya beats him in the head with a pot."

Tori smiled once more and followed her back to the picnic table where the argument about guns had ceased… for now. She could tell by the smoldering frustration in Eric's eyes that he wanted to win that argument and was thinking of how. Kira raised her eyebrows, showing she was surprised that Tori hadn't come back in tears.

Taylor raised her hands in defeat. They had things to get done.

* * *

The sun was setting as they made last minute preparations to go into the lair. Maya stood and watched the sky. The sun had just started to sink over the horizon, streaking the sky with pink and orange as that golden orb sank behind the trees. It was peaceful for a fleeting moment. Then the sounds of shrieking trick-or-treaters met her ears. Of all the customs on Earth, she found Halloween to be the strangest. Little children dressed up in costumes and walked around to total strangers' houses asking candy. Costumes on Mirinoi (at least among the native people) were only worn for special ceremonies.

She thought to her first Halloween on Terra Venture. The GSA gave a party for all the officers and employees on the colony—pretty much everyone. She and Leo were the only two of their ranger group without invitations. Mike found out and made sure both of them had dates—their ticket in. She had gone with Mike, while Kendrix had taken Leo.

Her costume for that night had been unlike anything she had ever seen. Kendrix had talked her into buying a fairy costume—the dress had been a soft gossamer fabric that was pale yellow with matching sparkly wings. Between Kendrix's hair styling techniques and random assortment of make-up and body glitter, she had felt… beautiful… for that one night.

Candy and prizes abounded along with games and raffle auctions, but none of that held any significance. After the six of them went their separate ways for the evening, she and Mike had gone to the Ocean Dome. In the soft moonlight that governed that dome, they had shared their first kiss. That Halloween had been the best, but now…

This Halloween was slowly spiraling into darkness.

"Maya?" someone called.

"Here," she called back, turning to see Kelsey coming towards her.

"Eric wants to get going," she said.

She nodded her acquiescence. It was a sound plan and the most logical thing that they had to go on. No one wanted to call the ninjas and drag them into a battle that wasn't theirs. The scroll of destiny did not name a victor—they would have to hope it would be enough, especially with most of the spirit realm on their side.

"Let's go," she said and followed Kelsey back to the camp site to the others. They crossed the camp grounds silently to the entrance to the tunnel.

* * *

Vypra looked at her handy-work with a wry smile on her face. This boy was the perfect one for the sacrifice. The cuts she had made on his body had stopped bleeding profusely and were scabbed over—it was enough. He was unconscious—probably from loss of blood, but he was alive and that was all that mattered.

"I told you I would get the boy," Jareth said.

She turned to see him standing in the doorway of the dungeon. "We almost didn't and those yellow rangers almost decimated my herbs. If they attack again-"

"Oh, they might attack again," Jareth interrupted. "But they won't get anywhere."

"Really?" She doubted that.

"Owling has posted sentinels in the tunnel. There is no way they can get through."

"That fairy almost broke through your mind-wash," Vypra snapped back. "If he comes to and betrays us-"

"That will not be a problem. I've strengthened the spells over him."

"A likely story."

"You don't trust me?"

"I've never trusted you."

"You're going to have to trust me or I'll kill the boy right now. Then this ceremony won't go forth and you won't have the power you dreamed of." He paused and gave her an evil smile. "Then your brother will hunt you down. I don't envy your fate."

He turned on his heel and disappeared down the hall. Vypra fumed after him. She didn't doubt that his threat was genuine—it was the fact that he might do it that scared her. He obviously did not think he had anything to gain or lose by this.

She did. So much was at stake.

_ To Be Continued..._

* * *

**Author's Note:** To Lucy E, Warstock-Leonhart and BloomingViolets, I tried to respond to your reviews, but you either didn't leave an e-mail address or it wasn't listed in your profile. But thanks for reviewing! I should have gotten back to everyone else... 


	22. Cries of the Wolf

**Disclaimer:** Still not mine...

**RESTLESS WARRIORS**

By Etcetera Kit

**Chapter Twenty-Two: Cries of the Wolf **

Kira quickly performed the correct pattern to release the handles on the cover to the tunnel. She looked up at Eric as he helped her move it. He looked determined. All of them were going in here and there was no turning back. It could mean their death… but they had to try. She had never felt this close to death before—not even in her time as a ranger. Facing death on a regular basis had become a part of her life, until she was so used to it that it was nothing more than a minor annoyance. Now… she felt that mortal hand grip her more fiercely. Hopefully, they would find Dustin and he would live to tell the tale of what had happened.

The others looked as determined as Eric.

"Ready?" Taylor asked, looking around at everyone.

"No one is ever ready for this," Maya whispered.

"I want to get Dustin out alive," Tori said. Her blue eyes were alight with fear and her voice trembled. Maya had been right—things between Tori and Dustin exceeded friendship, but fell into a gray area that no one could define.

"We all do," Kelsey reassured her.

Kira met Kelsey's gaze. She looked afraid, but there was something else lingering in her blue eyes. Was it guilt? Regret? She couldn't be sure. She felt a hand at the small of her back. Glancing back, she saw Conner standing close to her. She took comfort in his nearness, knowing that he had willingly thrown himself into this fray for her. It was a mark of how much he had matured. A year ago, he wouldn't have even dreamed of being here with her. This could well be the last day that any of them walked amongst the living.

"Now or never," Eric said softly. "Everyone know the plan?"

Everyone nodded. After deciding to go in at sunset to rescue Dustin, Eric had spent the remaining daylight hours concocting a plan for entering the fortress. He figured that Jareth and Vypra would have the tunnel guarded. Therefore, everyone except Kira and Taylor were going to battle them from the front. Once enough clearance was gained, Kira and Taylor were to use their power-up modes to glide over the guards and get into the temple. They would then take out as many guards as possible from the back, so that the others could help them.

Their task, after the others had the guards taken care of, was to find Dustin and get him out of the temple. The others would follow when they were clear to do so. It was a sound plan—and their best bet at getting anything accomplished.

Why then, was she so nervous?

"Kira and Taylor," Eric was saying. "You stay behind us until we give the signal."

She nodded, her mouth dry. Conner's arm went around her waist, holding her close to his side. This was not a battle she had planned on fighting. She wished that it were still three and a half weeks ago, when she had been blissfully ignorant of this. But without this, would she have come to any of the realizations in her life? Probably not. And she certainly would not have a date with Conner… if they came out of this alive.

Maya gazed at each of them. "May the power protect you," she said softly.

That was the way Trini and Zordon tended to send them off. It meant so much. They had to trust in their power source, but they also had to let the power trust them. When that fragile balance of trust was established, the power worked to its fullest extent. She thought to Conner with his Triassic mode and then his battlizer. He had been the one to trust the power more than she and Ethan… and he saw the benefits of it. She wondered if Zordon had restored his ability to become the Triassic Ranger or if he had restored his battlizer.

But there was no time to think about it. There was work to be done. She noticed that Taylor and Eric were standing closer together than she had seen them the entire time both of them had been at the camp site. It had been amusing enough when Maya called them out, but now… they might not see their time of marriage. She shuddered and tried not to think about it. She was a Power Ranger. That was enough. It was enough…

Eric jumped down the hatch leading to the tunnel. Taylor followed suit. Kelsey, Maya and Tori went down next. Kira looked at Conner. His brown eyes said so much. Grasping her shoulders, he pressed a quick, but firm kiss to her lips. "I love you, Kira," he whispered. "You might drive me crazy sometimes, but I love you."

She forced a smile to her face. "I love you too," she whispered back.

Turning and moving away from his reach, she jumped down the hatch. Eric caught her as she came down and set her on the ground. Conner jumped down after her. Taylor glanced up at the fading daylight coming from the hatch.

"Morph," she whispered. The plan always included morphing when they got into the tunnel, because most of them still operated on the secret identities front. Eric and Kelsey were the only two exceptions. Kira looked to Maya. As the ranger with the longest time in uniform, she started the morphing sequences.

"Ready?" Maya asked.

"Ready," all of them confirmed, holding their morphers in their 'ready' position.

"Go galactic!" The Yellow Galaxy Ranger appeared.

"Lightspeed rescue!" The Yellow Lightspeed Rescue Ranger joined her.

"Quantum power!" The Quantum Ranger came to life.

"Wild access!" Taylor became the Yellow Wild Force Ranger.

"Ninja storm—ranger form!" The Blue Wind Ranger called on the power of water and took her place amongst them.

Kira and Conner exchanged a glance and nodded. "Dino thunder! Power up!" Both of them were transformed, Conner into the Red Dino Ranger and she into the Yellow Dino Ranger. They looked at Taylor for the signal. She motioned for her and Kira to stay behind while the others moved forward.

Eric put Kelsey with him on the left side of the corridor, while Conner and Tori took the right side. Maya followed along behind Kelsey. Everyone pulled out their weapons, holding them ready against unseen attacks. Kira followed the line of sight Eric was setting with his Quantum Defender. Everything was still. How far down the tunnel did these guards Eric was hypothesizing about come? It was too still. No demons in sight.

The torches began to come on as they walked. Eric motioned her and Taylor to a side of the corridor. The yellow rangers washed out in the pale torchlight. Tori's uniform became a strange, sick-looking shade of green. Conner's and Eric's seemed darker somehow, more blood red than Crayola red. She tried not to shudder at the thoughts. If they could get in and find Dustin… it would make their lives much easier.

She was afraid of being cocky and thinking that no guards gave them an immediate in. Things like this always happened in the movies and people died because of it. No… this wasn't the movies. This game was real.

"Where are they?" Conner asked softly.

Eric suddenly came to a halt, everyone behind him bumping into him. Conner stopped across the tunnel and Kira could almost see a frown under his helmet.

"What?" Maya asked him.

Eric shushed her and he looked like he was listening. He turned slowly so that he was looking across the tunnel at Tori. Kira didn't know what he saw. "Tori, duck!" he cried suddenly, firing the Quantum Defender.

Tori ducked just as the Quantum Defender hit where her head had been. Something made a gargling, choking noise—almost a squeal—and fell to the ground. It was a demon. Kira's eyes went wide as they crowded into the center of the corridor.

"We're not alone," Eric muttered.

Just as he said those words, demons began to pour out of the very walls, forming a tight circle around them. They were surrounded by things that looked like little muddy potatoes on legs.

"Great," Taylor said. "The Mr. Potato Heads."

"You had to say it," Conner said to Eric.

* * *

Maya pulled out her Quasar Saber as the demons began to pour out of the walls. The initial Mr. Potato Heads, as Taylor called them, gave way to larger and more varied demons. The ranks finally seemed to end with the Batlings—Queen Banshera's foot soldiers. Maya had only had to fight them once before this mission, when the Galaxy Rangers had helped the Lightspeed Rangers with a bug problem.

She swung out at the nearest demons and they flew backwards at the force of her blow. Laser fire surrounded her and she realized she was the only ranger without a blaster. She had a cannon-like weapon she could pull out, but the quarters here were too confined and she didn't want to think about doing something that could cave the tunnel in. She didn't want to be trapped with a bunch of angry demons and she was sure that the others didn't either.

Eric was cursing with obscene creativity as he fired shot after shot at the demons. If this had been any other situation, Maya would have laughed.

The others seemed to be doing just as well, as random shots of yellow, blue and red light whizzed past her. It was amazing that they didn't hit one another with the wildness this fray was gaining. She concentrated on the demons closest to her.

"We can't break through," Conner cried.

"We'll break through," Eric shouted back. "They can't multiply."

Maya wasn't sure that was true, but Kelsey's shouted affirmation of the veracity of his statement gave her some hope. "Trans-dagger!" she called, pulling out her trans-dagger and putting it into the beta-bow formation.

She shot off a few yellow arrows that seemed to be nothing but pure energy. She had not used this formation much as a ranger—Kendrix preferred it, but it made sense in this situation. A Batling came up to her and she took him down with one arrow.

"Taylor! Kira! Now!" Eric yelled.

Maya was vaguely aware of two yellow-suited bodies pushing off the ground and gliding above them. Yes! Taylor and Kira were getting away. At least that part of their plan was working. She caught Eric surging forwards against the demons, taking hits left and right. Following his lead, she moved forward through the demons.

The others followed suit and soon it was a matter of shooting or shoving away demons that got in their path. The things still continued to pour out of the walls. This was insane. Then suddenly, she realized—these demons were not all demons. Some of them seemed to be more than the Batlings, solider, more real… Goblins… hadn't one of the spirit realm leaders said something about Jareth being king of the goblins. He would have an army of them at his disposal. No wonder some of the beings had taken harder falls than the Batlings and Mr. Potato Heads. Goblins…

"They're goblins!" she yelled to Eric.

"What?" he screamed back.

"Goblins. Treat them like normal mutants!"

He gave her a curt nod over his shoulder, before the Quantum Defender started firing at everything he could see that didn't look like a ranger. Goblins would fall and then disappear into a slightly green cloud. She wondered where they went.

But it didn't matter. She concentrated on the matter at hand—getting to the temple to help Kira and Taylor. Soon enough, the started to see the constant torchlight and… another battle raging by the balcony.

Eric came to a halt and Maya nearly ran into him. Kira and Taylor had been held up by Owling. Oh no… those brown eyes needed to lose that glazed look. He needed to come back to the good side. Kira got a hit on him with her blaster.

"Don't hurt him!" Maya cried running past Eric.

"Why?" Taylor asked.

"Because he was once good," she responded.

"He's not exactly playing nicely with others," Eric muttered.

Maya threw herself into the three-person battle. Owling made a strange noise and threw Taylor and Kira away from him. "No!" Maya cried, holding on to him while he tried to throw her off. "You're good! You're Owling Byrrd. You're brother is Arval Parrot!"

"I have no brother," he growled.

She moved one of her hands. "Look into your heart!" she pleaded with him. "This heart… this is where you are!"

He threw her off of him. Maya went flying backwards, only to be caught by Eric. He steadied her and put her back on her feet. Owling glared at them. "I serve King Jareth," he said. "And I will rule at his side."

"He's done something to you!" Maya cried. "You're not yourself."

Owling paused and something flickered in his brown-green eyes. He was remembering, but he looked up and threw off the memories. Eric still had Maya around the waist and he threw her towards the balcony.

"Find Dustin!" he said. "We'll keep this bozo busy!"

Maya looked back, the three of them engaged in battle with Owling—and no one appeared to be winning. Steeling her resolve, she swung herself over the balcony and took a long fall onto the temple floor below. Morphed, she felt barely a tremor from the fall. She looked up from the crouching position she had landed in. Demons and goblins were staring at her as if she had just jumped into a church service. Vypra and Jareth were standing by the altar.

She strained to see the altar. Dustin was tied to the altar. He wasn't moving, save for the shallow rise and fall of his chest. He was alive, but unconscious. And Vypra had done something to him—cuts were all over his chest in the strangest… demon writing. She had written on his very skin.

For a long moment, she stared at the demons and they stared back. Then at once, they rushed forward. She knelt and fired arrow after arrow at the demons. Soon enough, she had a clear path. She ran forward to the altar.

Halfway there, she froze as did everyone else in the temple.

Silence reigned in the room. Maya's heart froze, wanting to not believe what had happened. That knife had not gone singing through the air and sliced the tender flesh at the throat. It had not stopped the gentle rising and falling of that chest. A river of red ran over the side of the altar. Tears stung her eyes and streamed down her face, though no one could see because of her helmet. Vypra's head was raised in triumph, but Maya could not hear her. There was a roaring in her ears.

Dustin was dead.

The cries of the wolf rang out in outrage.

And she realized that the web of dreams had been fully awakened.

* * *

Aisha Campbell leaned over the hurt German shepherd. It wasn't a surprising injury for a city dog, since the Los Angeles drivers left something to be desired. Her young assistant handed her a stethoscope as she listened to the heartbeat. It was strong. As soon as they set the leg, this dog would make it to see more years if the drivers learned to pay attention.

She picked up a cotton swab to apply a local anesthetic.

Without warning, she felt something akin to a migraine crash into her brain. She dropped the cotton and leaned forward, the pain almost too intense to be real.

"Dr. Campbell!" her assistant cried. It felt distant.

An image settled into her mind. A man was strapped to some kind of stone table, his throat had been slit by something. The place was surreal, like something out of Fantasia. Horrible laughter and cries of pain hit her ears. All she knew was that in Mariner Bay, other yellow rangers needed her help.

* * *

Tanya Sloane-Park stared at the quizzes that her math classes had taken earlier that day. Years ago she would never had imagined herself a teacher nor would she have imagined herself married to Adam, but it had happened. Adam walked into the room and smiled.

"Still grading?" he asked.

She just smiled. He came into the room and sat next to her on the couch, when she felt an intense pain hit her head with mind-blowing intensity. She clutched her head and slid to the floor between the couch and coffee table, only able to wonder what was going on.

"Tanya!" Adam cried in a panicked voice.

But he was just background noise. A scene passed in front of her. Someone was strapped to an altar. His throat was slit and he was dead. Cruel laughter hit her ears as people cried in outrage and sorrow. Shadows hit the wall from a fire and danced like demons on Halloween. He had been a yellow ranger and there were other yellow rangers who needed her in Mariner Bay.

* * *

Ashley Hammond had been making dinner and trying to feed her one-year old. She had come to the conclusion long ago that babies managed to eat through osmosis, since their food always seemed to end up on their faces and not in their mouths. She smiled as little Serena banged her spoon on her high chair.

Andros came into the room, finishing loosening his tie from work. He leaned over and kissed her. She smiled. "Watch out for Serena," she warned.

He didn't say anything, just smiled as he kissed his daughter on the forehead and sat at the table, as far away from the filthy baby as possible.

Quite suddenly, she felt a crushing pain in her skull. Slipping to the floor and clutching her head between her hands, she let out a cry.

"Ashley!" Andros cried, falling to the floor beside her and cradling her in his arms. An image was burned into her mind. A young man was on some kind of altar, his throat cut. Horrific images of demons danced around him and a pale man with the knife stood over him. For some reason, she knew he was another yellow ranger and he was dead. Others needed her help. She had to go to Mariner Bay.

* * *

Far into the future, Katie Walker was going about her normal closing routine at the Time Force headquarters. It was almost time to leave for the day and she was heading to the cafeteria to pick up something to eat before heading home. It was business as usual for her.

"Hey Katie!" Trip Regis called with a grin as she passed him in the hallway.

She was about to respond, but an unreal pain came to her and forced her to stop and sink to the ground in its wake. Pain like this had been eliminated, hadn't it? What was going on with her? Nothing like this happened anymore.

"Katie, are you all right?" Trip's panicked voice came to her.

An image almost burned itself into her mind. Someone was strapped to a table and he was bleeding. She wanted to yell at someone to help, to get a dermal regenerator and stop the bleeding before it was too late, but something told her he was dead. Laughter hit her ears and it sounded demonic and cruel, like someone was celebrating pain and the loss of life. She wanted to stop it, but couldn't. One thing came to her.

She had to go to the past and help these people. She had to get to Mariner Bay. They were yellow rangers as she had been a yellow ranger. They needed her.

* * *

Elizabeth Delgado frowned and looked at the dinner selections. Nothing looked appealing. It was like they made the food awful just to discourage people from coming to places like this. She paused for a moment before deciding dinner was out. Nothing was edible.

"Hey, Z!" Bridge said as he cheerfully came in and filled his plate, digging into the terrible food.

She tried not to blanch at him. Suddenly, she felt something crush her skull. Crying out, she sank to the floor beside the table, trying to figure out what was going on. Was this Emperor Gruumm or one of his goons? No, they had never caused this much pain before. What was it?

A scene played out before her pain-blurred eyes. Someone was strapped to a stone table and he was bleeding. No, he was dead. People cried out in sorrow and pain for him, as the cruel laughter tried to cover their cries. He was a yellow ranger. The others were yellow rangers as well. She had to help them. She might be the newest yellow ranger, but she had a duty to the others who came before her. She had to go to Mariner Bay and help them.

_ To Be Continued..._

* * *

**Author's Note:** I feel like I should be hiding from the people storming my dorm room with torches and pitchforks. Oh well. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed this storyit means a lot to me! The reviews from the last update absolutely blew me away! Also, there's still a bunch of chapters left in this story (well, not a bunch, but more than just one or two.) Hang in there with me, guys! Now for reviewer responses to everyone who reviewed chapter 21:

**CamFan4Ever**- Thanks for your kind words!

**dustori**- I plan on finishing this piece. I know that my unfinished LXG fic may lead people to believe that my stories won't be finished, but this one definitely will be finished. Thanks for your kind words.

**fenestrae**- Glad you liked that weapons argument. I figured that Eric would be looking for a fight if he's upset and it would be more amusing if it was over something nonsensical since all of them can morph. Thanks for reviewing!

**Funky In Fishnet**- Thanks! I'm glad you liked the bit with Maya remembering her Halloween on Mirinoi. I had debated whether or not to leave that scene intact. :) Your review was really sweet!

**Hagar**- Foreshadowing? Moi? Surely you jest! lol Thanks for your kind words!

**Lucy E**- Thanks for your kind words! Hope this chapter satisfied you for now...

**Samurai-Nashie**- I guess the sentiment for this chapter is the same as the last chapter, huh? lol Thanks for reviewing.

**Satori Blackthorn**- Thanks! I know your out there even if you're not reviewing. lol As to everything else, you shall see:)

**Thalia-Sandy**- Thanks for your sweet words!

**Warstock-Leonhart**- I'll find your e-mail address somehow. lol Thanks for your sweet review!

**xXFattyonfireXx**- Your review was really sweet! Thanks for your kind words. As to the Dustin/Tori thing... well... things are not looking so good right now, but I can't say much more without giving something away.


	23. Strength Like Thunder

**Disclaimer:** I don't own them.

**RESTLESS WARRIORS**

By Etcetera Kit

**Chapter Twenty-Three: Strength Like Thunder **

Elizabeth Delgado gave Jack a withering look. He might have been her best friend for a long time and he might be the B squad Red Ranger, but he lacked subtlety. It explained the screaming match they were having in the middle of the lounge at the SPD Academy. Well… it wasn't a screaming match, but it was as close as they were going to come in this environment. A few weeks ago, she might have willing jumped at the fight, but now… now she just wanted Jack to understand why she was leaving late at night for Mariner Bay.

"Z! This is ridiculous!" he was saying. "You don't know anything about these people—you're basing all of this on a hallucination!"

"It wasn't a hallucination, Jack!" she retorted. "Those people need me! There are other yellow rangers out there who need me!"

"All right," Jack said, raising his hands in a temporary surrender. She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. "How about you wait until morning so you can at least tell Crugger or Kat where you're going?"

"Someone has already died, Jack!" she said, her voice rising in pitch and volume. "If I don't get there soon, someone else will die!"

"Who died?"

She turned to the doorway of the lounge. Bridge and Sky were standing in the doorway, neither one of them looking happy. Bridge was still sleepy and his appearance confirmed it—he had been roused from a deep sleep. Sky had his uniform perfectly in place as always. Syd stumbled in after them, in much the same state as Bridge.

"Tell her she just can't take off because of some stupid hallucination!" Jack said angrily in the direction of their teammates.

"Hallucination?" Sky looked concerned.

"It wasn't a hallucination," she stated hotly. "It was a vision. I have to leave and get to Mariner Bay."

"It's what you saw earlier, isn't it?" Bridge rubbed his eyes and nodded. "Then you need to go."

"I'd already be gone if Jack wasn't being an ass," she muttered.

Sky looked from Bridge to her. It was against his instinct to allow something not in the SPD handbook, but he also trusted Bridge. She knew that and hoped that the most conscientious and anal-retentive member of their squad would see that. His hard blue eyes softened as his arms dropped to his sides.

"Then you need to go," he said simply.

"Thank you, Sky!" she cried smiling. Impulsively, she threw her arms around his neck and gave him a kiss on the cheek. He stiffened and looked embarrassed.

"The keys are in the Jeep. Go ahead and take that. It has a full tank of gas."

Z didn't even pause to think about how Bridge, Sky and Syd knew that she and Jack were arguing in the lounge. She just ran out the door, flying towards the parking garage that housed all the SPD vehicles. She would get there in time. No one else would die—not on her time. Jumping into the Jeep, she drove towards Mariner Bay.

* * *

"I don't think it's the smartest idea to steal a time ship and go back into time," Trip was saying with a fearful expression on his round face. 

Katie Walker turned and gave Trip a sharp look. "What else do you recommend I do?"

He fell silent. She knew he would. He was telepathic and had seen much of the vision she received. He knew she needed to get back to the past, but they were running into technical obstacles left and right. After some checking and tapping into systems, they had found a time ship that no one was using. She could pilot it and get herself safely to 2005. The only problem would be when someone found out in the morning that she had stolen a ship. Captain Logan and people of that ilk had gone home, so she was hard-pressed to find authorization for something like that now.

"Katie," Trip ventured. "If you waited until tomorrow morning-"

"Someone else will die," she responded. "Trip, I know what you're thinking. Jen and Captain Logan and people who can give me authorization will be in tomorrow morning, but it will be too late." She paused, her expression softening. "I need your help."

Trip sighed. "I know." He paused and let out a long breath. "Someone needs to be in the control tower, programming the launch Megazord." He thought for a minute. "I should be able to scramble the security feeds enough so that they won't initially be able to tell it's you."

She smiled. "Would you cover for me tomorrow?"

"I don't know how long the cover would last. Look, just get back here sometime tonight and we can cover this up."

Katie knew what he was implying. She should take care of her business in the past and then set the ship to return to almost the exact moment she had left. It would take care of their problems and reduce the chance that either of them were severely punished for taking a ship with no authorization.

"What date?" he asked.

She gave him a date—Halloween 2005.

"You know," he said slowly. "We could always wait for authorization and then just send you back to then. You'd get there the same time."

He had a point, but she felt the urgency. "Trip… I know that's logical, but something… I need to get there as soon as possible."

He nodded. "All right. Just don't crash on the way there, all right?"

Katie nodded with a grin. He turned and took off for the control tower, while she headed for the ship that wasn't being used. As she strapped herself into the ship and programmed the date and time for her arrival, she thought back to that vision.

"Ready, Katie?" Trip asked over the intercom.

"Yup," she replied, bracing herself for the initial effects the time travel had.

In another moment, she would be on her way.

* * *

Andros stood in the doorway of their bedroom, watching Ashley dig through a drawer in their dresser, looking for her morpher. His eyes were impassive—he knew that nothing was going to stop her from leaving. He had experience with visions and the supernatural. He was also more than capable of taking care of Serena for the time she was gone. She didn't doubt that. She just wished he'd say more than 'please yourself.' 

She located her morpher and strapped it to her left wrist. She depressed a button, revealing the keypad. She remembered the code to morph… Turning, she looked at Andros and his neutral expression.

"The other yellow rangers need me," she said softly.

He sighed. "I know." His voice was soft and tremulous.

"Andros, nothing will happen to me."

"I'm not allowed to worry?"

She smiled. "Of course you're allowed to worry."

He gently grasped her shoulders and kissed her forehead. "Then be careful," he said softly. "Entering a scene that has already seen death…" He shook his head. "It's not a good thing."

"This is about preventing more deaths," she whispered. "I don't know why, but I think Maya is already there."

"Then don't wait," he said. "I love you."

"I love you too."

Andros pulled her forward and into his arms. She sank against him, feeling the strength and heat of his embrace. He knew that she had to go—and he was willing to let her go. His lips met hers in a firm kiss.

"Be careful," he whispered.

She gave him a smile, before leaving the house. The night was cool and clear. Andros would have come with her in a heartbeat, but someone needed to care for Serena. The night didn't seem to be one that held death. She got in the car and headed for Mariner Bay.

* * *

"Tanya," Adam was saying. "You don't have your powers anymore. Most of the other yellow rangers do. What if you're hurt or something…" He trailed off. 

Tanya turned and faced him. "I have to go," she said softly. "The other yellow rangers need me. Those… things… have already succeeded in killing one of us. I want to make sure that no one else meets that fate."

"I know," Adam replied. "But… I don't know."

She narrowed her eyes. "You don't know what?"

"Is it smart to run to Mariner Bay because of a vision?"

Tanya glared at him. "My people in Africa used to think nothing of visions. In fact, people that received visions were highly regarded in society."

He sighed. "I know, but I'm worried."

Her expression softened. "When are you not worried?" she asked.

He gave her a rueful smile. "Never?" he suggested.

Tanya sighed and gently wrapped her arms around his neck. He returned the embrace. She had married Adam for a lot of the reasons that were driving her insane right now. But he had been a ranger too… he understood about going back to help other rangers. Granted, the times he had gone back to help others, he had personally known the other rangers and known what he was getting into. She didn't know—all she knew was that other yellow rangers needed her help and there was already one dead. Of course, if this had gone out to all the other yellow rangers than Aisha and Ashley would be there.

She gently backed away from him. "I have to go," she whispered.

He nodded and watched as she left the house for the car. He would call the school district and call in sick for her if he had to. She waved before pulling the car out of the driveway and starting on her journey.

* * *

"All right," Aisha told her assistant. The young woman, Hannah, gave her a worried look. She knew well what that meant. Hannah did not think she should be running of for no apparent reason for an undetermined length of time. She would not understand—she had not spent enough time in Africa to appreciate the value of visions. 

She just shook her head and continued with the instructions. "Dayes will be in tomorrow," she continued, naming one of the other vets at this clinic. "He can take care of emergency calls. You can do the routine check-ups and things like that." She paused. "I'll give you a call if this extends beyond tomorrow."

"But, Doctor…" Hannah trailed off.

"What?" she asked, fully expecting a lecture or a question.

"I mean why? Why are you taking off like this?"

She sighed. "It's a long story," she replied. "I have friends who need my help." She paused and gave Hannah a sharp look. "You can do this. You'll be fine."

Hannah nodded as Aisha stepped out of the clinic and headed for her car. She needed to go directly to Mariner Bay. The young woman watched in the window as she got into her car and started the dormant engine. Was there anyone who would understand why she was doing this? Yes… Trini would as would Tanya. She had a feeling that her cousin was already on her way to Mariner Bay and Trini… who knew what Trini's involvement with this would be.

The night was clear and the moon shone brightly. It was almost incongruous with the panic and fear laced into that vision. But she would go to help… powers or no powers… it was something that had to be done.

With any luck, she'd be in Mariner Bay in an hour.

* * *

Kelsey finally broke through the wall of demons to the balcony. Eric, Taylor and Kira had been fighting Owling, but all had frozen. What were they all frozen about? She ran up to the balcony, Tori and Conner close on her heels. And she saw what had happened… 

Dustin was lying on the altar and, from the gash in his throat, there was no mistaking that he was dead. Vypra was standing over him, her head thrown back in evil laughter. The demons and goblins down by the altar were slowly coming out of their frozen state and laughing gleefully and dancing. Some blasts of yellow energy from the floor betrayed Maya's whereabouts. Kelsey felt tears sting her eyes. They had failed… she had failed… if she hadn't let him be captured in that cloud of smoke in the first place…

"No!" Tori screamed.

Jareth slowly lifted his head and smiled. "Owling," he said in a voice filled with command and power. "Destroy the intruders."

Owling slowly came out of his reverie and smiled evilly at them. The demons on the ground surged on Maya once more and she struggled to keep them away from her, finally pulling out something that looked like a cannon. A blast of yellow light threw demons towards the altar on the ground.

A sudden blast of energy hit her. She fell to the ground and twisted around the see Owling's hand held out that smile still in place. No… he was supposed to be good, wasn't he? Shouldn't they try to get him out of the spell? He tried to blast them again.

Kelsey rolled so that the blast of energy hit the part of the balcony beside her and not herself. Powering down involuntarily seemed like a bad idea at this point in time. Demons poured around them from all over. She found herself at the edge of one of the circles.

"Destroy them," Owling said.

The demons charged forward. Kelsey used her V-Lancer to get them back from her, but the numbers were becoming slowly overwhelming.

Suddenly, she felt someone grab her waist and shove her through the wall of demons so that she was on the other side. Twisting, she saw that it was Eric. He waved at her to get out of there as he blasted away some demons.

"Get out of here, Kelsey!" he yelled at her.

"No!" she cried back. "You need help!"

"You can help us by getting out of here!" he replied. "Start moving or I'll shoot you!" he threatened.

She knew that the threat was genuine. Turning away from the battle, she ran down the tunnel towards the hatch.

"One of them is getting away!" a demon called.

"Leave her," Owling said. "She is no threat."

Kelsey ran. The tunnel was clear of all the demons and goblins that had been residing there earlier. Her shadow was contorted in the torchlight, but she kept running. Her muscles were screaming at her to stop and her heart was pounding. She had to gasp for breath and tears were running down her cheeks, itchy under her helmet. She wanted to rest, but couldn't. She was running away from a battle.

She had no idea what to do, where to get help.

Eric had made a mistake sending her away from the battle. She had no way of getting the ninjas in enough time nor did she have enough time to gather all the former Lightspeed Rangers. She was failure… the weakest link… Sobs rose in her throat, but she choked them down as she approached the hatch.

Using what strength she had left, she pulled herself up the ladder and to the ground. The moonlight cast a silvery glow on the word and the round, full moon spoke of the time it was to complete the ceremony. No…

She fell to the ground right beside the hatch.

"Power down," she said in a shaky voice.

Her uniform and helmet disappeared. She quickly used her jacket sleeve to wipe at her eyes. She was getting nowhere fast. Sobs began to wrack her body.

"I need help," she said softly. "I need someone to help me."

"Then perhaps it is time to find what is inside you," a voice said.

Kelsey gasped and sat up. Trini was kneeling beside her, transparent and blue like always. The look on her face was compassionate and there was no criticism held in those dark almond shaped eyes.

"I failed," she said in between sobs. "They caught Dustin because of me and now he's dead because of me!" She paused. "It's all my fault."

"How is it all your fault?" Trini asked. "I believe that Conner and Kira were also with you when those demons kidnapped him. How is it anyone's fault? Not one of you could have done anything to prevent what Jareth did."

"But we failed. We promised him that we wouldn't let him be captured and he got captured and…" she trailed off, unable to articulate the rest of her thoughts.

"Kelsey," Trini said shaking her head. "I've talked to Dustin. He does not blame any of you for what happened."

"He… what?" She paused, her mind comprehending what Trini had said. "You've talked to Dustin? Where is he?"

"He has taken his place on the Council of Light."

Kelsey looked away from Trini, her heart pounding and her misery returning. "So he really is dead?" she whispered.

"But you can still stop the ceremony and help the others."

"How? How can I help them?"

"Have you forgotten about your ancient animal spirit? Have you forgotten that these spirits are there to help and guide you?"

"I don't… how?"

"Think, Kelsey. Think."

She fell silent. She couldn't think—all of her thoughts were jumbled together and she couldn't make sense of anything. Memories of Dustin trying to teach her a Water kata came back to her mind along with memories from this trip. Her heart felt like it was breaking. He was so young and had so much going for him. He didn't deserve to die. She thought back to his plans to own a comic book store and his love of psychology. So many dreams and now they were dreams of never. None of that would ever see light.

The ancient animal spirits… she thought back to fantasy movies where things like unicorns and the Pegasus ran free across the land. Was it possible for her to call forth the ancient animal spirits in that fashion… like a movie?

"Trini," she said suddenly. "Can we call the ancient animals here?"

Trini smiled. "If you believe."

Kelsey suddenly frowned. "It won't work. We won't have enough time to get there and the others…"

"You are the Pegasus, Kelsey!" Trini suddenly said, her voice sharp. "You can fly!"

"Can they come in their animal form?"

"It's up to you now."

Kelsey closed her eyes, picturing the Pegasus in her mind. She didn't know which animal belonged to the others, but she knew that something must. A spirit had come down to protect each of them and it would not fail them. She didn't know why she knew that, but it was the first thing since the beginning of this mission that she had been sure of.

"Pegasus," she whispered. "I need you."

Images swirled before her mind—the Pegasus as portrayed in movies and pictures and ancient Greek artifacts.

"You are strong," Trini said softly. "Stronger than you know."

She opened her eyes. "Will it work?"

Trini smiled. "You already know the answer to that."

Something suddenly nudged Kelsey's shoulder. A blast of warm breath hit her cheek, much like a horse. She turned around and nearly fainted…

_To Be Continued..._


	24. Flight of the Pegasus

**Disclaimer:** Saban used to own them, but they sold them out to Disney. I am neither Saban nor Disney.

**RESTLESS WARRIORS**

By Etcetera Kit

**Chapter Twenty-Four: Flight of the Pegasus **

The white stallion stamped impatiently, as if to say that it thought they needed to be going. Kelsey slowly got to her feet and placed a tentative hand on the horse's muzzle. It nudged her hand, as if allowing her permission to pet it. Raising her eyes further, she took in the large snow-white wings that rose gracefully from the horse's back. The Pegasus… she had succeeded in bringing her ancient animal spirit to life. She looked back for Trini, but the original yellow ranger was nowhere in sight.

"You're the Pegasus?" she asked him.

He shook his head in a distinct nod. His brown eyes were full of a fiery passion. Kelsey smiled, knowing that this was the key to their success.

"Can you help me?" she whispered.

The Pegasus snuffed, blowing hot horse-breath onto her face.

"All right, I believe you," she said with a smile.

He threw his head back, as if motioning in a direction. She looked in the direction that he was pointing. Four other creatures were headed for them. Kelsey's jaw dropped open as she turned back to the Pegasus.

"Are they the other's animal spirits?" she asked.

The Pegasus nodded.

Kelsey turned to watch the four other animals come forth. One of them was another white stallion, but, instead of the large wings that the Pegasus had, it had a pearly-iridescent horn rising from the center of its forehead. It had ice blue eyes that portrayed its desire to protect the person he had chosen. A unicorn… she wondered which one of them belonged to this unicorn. Perched on the horn of the unicorn was a large red bird. Its feathers were shades of red, orange and yellow so that it looked like a flame shaped like a bird. Its beak opened and it let out a distinct war-cry. That had to be a phoenix. She had been a mythology buff in high school and had learned about these creatures.

The other two creatures were even more fantastic than the two stallions and the phoenix. One of them had the body of a large feline, but her face was that of a beautiful woman. Framed by a halo of gold, the sphinx stepped forward, her tail twitching back and forth as her green eyes studied Kelsey. Next to the sphinx was a griffin. This creature had the hindquarters of a lion with the front part of its body including its head and wings being that of an eagle. It was huge—larger than any of the other creatures and looked to be the fiercest. It matched the phoenix's war-cry, using its body to create unbelievable volume.

The Pegasus nudged her shoulder. She absently placed a hand on its head, cradling the warm, large body against her. The sphinx stepped forward.

"We serve the five yellow rangers," she said in a melodious voice.

"Which ones?" Kelsey asked.

"I belong to the Eagle," the sphinx said. She turned to the others, her tail still tapping out a rhythmic time. "The griffin belongs to the Lion." She paused and gazed at the remaining two. "The unicorn serves the Pterodactyl and the phoenix serves the Wolf."

Kelsey thought for a minute. The Eagle had to be Taylor—she had an Eagle-Zord when she had been an active ranger. Kira was definitely the dinosaur. The Lion had to be Dustin… and that left Maya as the Wolf. She wondered at the euphemisms the creatures used for them. It made her wonder what the Pegasus called her.

"There isn't much time," the sphinx continued. "The Lion has been slain. The demons must be stopped before they complete their ceremony. We must hurry."

She nodded. The Pegasus nudged her again and sank down on his front legs, unmistakably giving her an invitation to climb aboard. Taking a deep breath, she grabbed a handful of his mane and swung herself onto his back. The sphinx nodded.

"You must get the body of the Lion away from them," she said. "We will follow you. Do not fail us."

Kelsey nodded. The Pegasus tucked his wings close to his body, covering her legs and giving her no chance to escape, even if she wanted to. He then took a dive straight down into the tunnel. Kelsey bit back a scream, waiting the impact crash when he hit the ground of the tunnel. But it never came. She didn't know what he did or how he did it, but they were upright, standing in the tunnel, looking at the long path in front of them.

He gave her an over-the-shoulder glance. "What?" she asked. He snuffed again, this time hitting her left wrist. Her morpher… "Oh!" she said with sudden realization. "You want me to morph." She pushed the button on her morpher. "Lightspeed rescue!" In a moment, she appeared morphed, still sitting on the Pegasus' back.

Without warning, he took off down the tunnel. For some reason, the tunnel didn't seem as narrow as it had. The Pegasus' had an impressive wing span and it was barely brushing the tunnel walls he flew along at breakneck speed. A squawk hit her ears. Twisting around, she saw the phoenix and the griffin close on their tail. Further away, she could make out the unicorn and the sphinx following them.

"Faster, Pegasus," she urged the winged horse forward.

He complied and his wings spread straight out to glide down the tunnel. She wasn't sure where the air currents were coming from that enabled him to fly. She had a feeling that someone in Fairyland or the spirit realm was giving them a push in the correct direction. The torches came into view and the constant torchlight almost startled her.

"We're almost there," she whispered.

The battle began to come into view. Eric and the others were still where she had left them, although most people were moving slowly and looked ready to power down involuntarily. Eric, Conner, Kira, Tori, Taylor… Maya must still be on the floor battling with the demons and goblins down there.

"What the hell?" Eric shouted.

"Tricks," Owling hissed.

The Pegasus flew over the battle just as the griffin landed and threw back several demons with a mighty roar. He was a fierce fighter, using his deadly talons to tear through the demons and using his back paws to kick at things. The phoenix flew up to her and nibbled on her ear, obviously urging her to do something.

Kelsey nudged the Pegasus around. She looked down at the temple. Vypra was holding up some herbs and saying an incantation, oblivious of the raging battle around her. Jareth was laughing. Maya was still surrounded by demons and was doing her best to battle them off, but she was quickly losing ground and energy.

"May the Darkness be merciful," she heard Owling scream.

The unicorn and the sphinx had just joined the fray. The unicorn was using its horn to impale demons and throw them into the walls. The sphinx was using her paws to her advantage, clearing demons away from the rangers.

"Take the Wolf and the phoenix," the sphinx called to her. "They can help you get the Lion out of the clutches."

"It talks!" Conner cried.

"It's the only one," Kelsey shot back, before urging the Pegasus down from where he had been hovering near the ceiling. "To the Wolf," she whispered. He shot straight down to where Maya was trying to fight out the demons.

"Maya!" she screamed, reaching out a hand. The Galaxy Ranger shot a final arrow at a demon and then reached out towards her.

She caught her hand tightly and, using her remaining strength, swung her around so that she was seated behind her on the Pegasus. The phoenix flew next to them as the Pegasus abruptly pulled up from the dive and headed towards the ceiling again.

"The ancient animal spirits," Maya breathed.

The phoenix landed on Maya's shoulder as the Pegasus began to hover near the ceiling again. Kelsey surveyed the room, looking for the best way to approach getting Dustin's body away from the altar and away from Vypra.

"We need to get Dustin's body away from them," Kelsey said to Maya.

"But, they've already killed him!"

"No, they need the body for the rest of the ceremony. If we get it away from them, then it won't go forward as planned."

"Who told you all this?"

Kelsey pointed to the balcony where the sphinx was almost lazily tossing demons towards the griffin. The griffin was ripping them to shreds as they came his way. Kelsey knew why he was so impassioned. The one he served had fallen.

"No wonder the griffin is fighting so hard," Maya said.

The Lightspeed Ranger looked down. Vypra was holding a large knife over Dustin's chest, like she was about to slice through to his heart.

"What is she doing?"

"No," Maya whispered.

"Pegasus," Kelsey cried. "We need to get down there!"

He complied by pulling them into a tight, fast dive down towards the floor. Demons and goblins looked and saw him coming. With a scream, they scattered as his hooves scrapped the ground. It looked like they were parting the waters of a sea. Kelsey held onto the Pegasus for dear life as he came to a skidding stop in front of the altar.

"Good job," Kelsey whispered to the Pegasus and she and Maya swung themselves off of the winged horse and began running towards the altar.

"Stop!" she cried, holding her V-Lancer at the ready.

Maya fell into step with her as they ran up the stairs that led to the altar, her saber in one hand and her trans-dagger in the other.

* * *

Vypra screeched and dropped the knife as the two of them came up the stairs to the altar. Maya held her saber out as Kelsey did the same with her V-Lancer. Her stomach churned at the sight of what they had done to Dustin's body. No… she had to be strong. 

"Don't touch him!" she said in a low voice.

"What do you care?" Vypra taunted. "He's already dead!"

"Unlike you, we care," Kelsey said.

Vypra gave them a sneering look and unsheathed her sword. "You Lightspeed Rangers were always a thorn in my side," she hissed.

"Sorry to spoil your fun," Kelsey shot back.

Jareth suddenly disappeared from the altar. Maya followed his flight and he ended up in the middle of the fray on the balcony, trying to stop the terror of the griffin. The next thing she knew, the griffin jumped off the balcony and sailed gracefully down to the floor. More demons began to shriek and scatter. He raised a talon and eliminated half a dozen of them with one swipe. Maya snapped back to the altar.

Vypra was slowly rounding the altar, her sword at the ready. "You are going to pay," she hissed to Kelsey.

"Try me," Kelsey replied.

The demon princess let out a screech and charged towards Kelsey. In the chaos, Maya left them to their battle and studied Dustin's body. He had been chained to the altar, even though he had been unconscious the whole time. Using her saber, she quickly hacked away at the chains and removed them from around his wrists and ankles. The skin on both places had been worn raw from previous struggling and the wounds were still visible.

Maya quickly touched her morpher. "Power down," she commanded.

Her uniform disappeared and was replaced by the khaki pants and Kendrix's pink sweater that she had been wearing the entire time on Earth. She gently touched the raw skin on Dustin's wrist. His eyes were closed and he looked like he was at peace.

There was a squawk.

She turned as the phoenix stood on the altar next to her. "He's gone," she said softly to the phoenix. "We can't bring him back."

The phoenix stepped over to Dustin's gashed throat. The mythical bird leaned and a pearly tear fell from his eye. It came into contact with one part of the gash. A slight hissing noise accompanied by some steam occurred and the place where the tear had landed was healed. The skin was as it was and the blood disappeared. Another tear followed and the same thing happened. She watched in wonder as the tears fell onto the tender skin and soon the entire gash on his throat was healed.

"Phoenix tears," she whispered.

How could she have forgotten? Phoenix tears held healing qualities. Could the phoenix heal his body and bring him back to life? She had known so much about the creature, but as much as she had known, she had forgotten so much about phoenixes… but she didn't know if that would work. Phoenixes were able to resurrect themselves, but was it possible for their tears to bring back someone else.

"You rangers don't know when to stop!" Vypra was screeching. Her sword came down violently on the V-Lancer, causing an explosion of sparks.

"You're not going to get away with his," Kelsey was retorting. She threw the V-Lancer upward, forcing Vypra to take several steps back.

The phoenix gently bent forward and his tears fell on the cuts back on Dustin's chest. Each different cut with its different meaning became nothing as the tears fell. Maya almost wondered what Vypra had carved into his skin, but that would only make it worse. The cuts healed and the demon writing disappeared from the body. Maya gasped back a sob. His body would not hold the scars from what had happened to him. None of them or any of the ninjas needed a reminder of what had happened to their friend and teacher.

The bird was on his feet, circling to his wrists and ankles, healing the wounds there. The raw and bleeding skin went back to its normal form. His skin still looked pale and ashen. She looked to the phoenix. Did it have something else it would do? But even once all the visible scars were gone, his chest still remained still and his eyes remained closed. Maya tried not to begin crying. Her hopes had been dashed once more.

"Even you can't bring him back to life?" she asked the phoenix sadly.

The bird shook its head, laying itself on Dustin's chest. She saw something in that gesture. The bird was protecting his heart—a heart that Vypra had been ready to cut out only moments before.

"Maya! Watch out!"

She turned just in time to duck a sword blow from Vypra that would have been fatal. The sword crashed with the edge of the altar, thankfully missing Dustin and the phoenix.

"Go galactic!" she cried to re-morph just before another blow almost hit her. She pulled out her saber and blocked the blows, sparks flying as the battle raged.

"Vypra!" Jareth yelled from the balcony.

He and Owling looked to be on the losing end of a battle from what was going on up on the balcony. Shots from various laser guns and loud voices indicated that no one had been defeated yet. Suddenly, part of the balcony crumbled and fell forward. People froze, not expecting that particular architectural failure. The next thing she knew, Eric was shooting demons off of the balcony and down onto the floor below.

"Stupid demons," he was muttering.

"Don't like demons," Jareth asked sarcastically.

"Sorry," Eric replied. "But no."

That battle continued to rage.

With Vypra distracted by Jareth and Kelsey attacking again, Maya went to the altar and hauled Dustin's body off of the stone slab. The phoenix nudged his head as he rolled over onto her shoulder. Maya felt tears well up in her eyes. She couldn't carry him out of the temple and get his body to safety—not by herself. No… she would not let these demons win! There had to be a way to get him out of here without doing more damage.

With a roar, the griffin charged through the demons and landed in front of her at the altar. He gracefully fell to his knees, his talons clicking across the stone floor. His intent was clear. He would carry Dustin to safety. She moved his body with the phoenix nudging and helping her along. Finally, she got the Yellow Wind Ranger settled in a nest the griffin had formed between his wings.

"Take him to safety and guard him," she said to the griffin.

The griffin nodded his head and would probably have bowed if it hadn't been for the precious cargo on his back. She smiled and laid a hand on his head. He nodded again and then took off for the balcony. Maya didn't know how he was still able to fly and hold Dustin steady on his back. She didn't have time to wonder at it. Vypra swung at her again. She blocked the blow, watching Kelsey come up from behind.

This intricate dance was not good.

"You took the sacrifice!" Vypra screeched.

"Not the brightest one, are you?" Kelsey retorted. Her V-Lancer came at Vypra from behind and the demon screeched again.

"Dustin is safe!" Maya cried, blocking another unsteady blow from the sword.

"You lie," Vypra hissed.

Far above on the balcony, they could hear Jareth yelling at the demons and at Owling. "Get them! Why can't you people hold five insignificant humans!"

"It's the creatures!" someone yelled.

The sphinx suddenly dropped a couple different demons over the edge of the balcony. The next thing they knew, Kira and Taylor were in their powered up modes, gliding down over the balcony to help them.

"Staying the spirit realm got too boring?" Taylor asked.

Vypra continued her screeching and swung at them. The phoenix had left them and was managing to stop the demons on the ground. More things continued to fall from the crumbled balcony.

"I hate rangers," Vypra hissed as she took a swing at Taylor.

The Wild Force Ranger expertly ducked it and responded with a shot from her crystal saber. Kira came through in that moment and narrowly missed Vypra with her blaster.

This was a battle that Maya was not sure they would win…

* * *

The Magna Defender exchanged a glance with his son before turning his attention to Zordon. The leader of the Council of Light was standing by one of the windows in their chamber, looking out to the eternally green land they had created. The spirits of two yellow rangers stood in the chamber as well, looking to the long-time leader of the Power Rangers. 

Lucivar cracked his knuckles by the table.

"This is ridiculous," the Prince of the Demons said. "I could go down there now and finish off Vypra before this madness goes any further."

"What about your code of honor?" Dimitria asked.

"I would break it," he said. "And then step down as Prince of the Demons."

"That would prove nothing," the Magna Defender said. "These yellow rangers have proved more than capable. There is no reason no to trust them." He paused. "They will send Vypra back to the grave."

Silence fell over them once more and everyone turned their attention back to Zordon. He had not moved throughout their entire exchange. The Magna Defender was worried. This was entirely unlike Zordon. He was never this quiet or brooding. Something was the matter and it wasn't that one of the yellow rangers had joined their ranks in the Council of Light. What was going on?

"Reinforcements are coming," Zordon said finally. He turned to all of them. His expression was unreadable. "I will meet them and restore the powers of those who have lost their powers."

He turned and left the chamber.

Zinka turned to his father. "Will they win, Father?" he asked.

The Magna Defender shook his head. "I don't know." 

_To Be Continued..._


	25. Speed of the Wind

**Disclaimer:** Belongs to Disney. Although my Starbucks franchise is starting to loom large in my future...

**RESTLESS WARRIORS**

By Etcetera Kit

**Chapter Twenty-Five: Speed of the Wind **

"Fools!" Vypra said loudly. One final blow from her sword sent Kelsey and Maya flying backwards onto the floor. Kira and Taylor ran in front of them as a defensive position. Taylor looked at the demon princess. Her eyes seemed gazed over from… something… She stepped slowly up onto the altar.

There were grooves that ran along the sides of the altar. They were also slick with fresh blood. Vypra gently ran a finger in it and the finger came back sticky with it. She smiled, staring at her finger as she walked the rest of the way up the altar. She stood over the place where Dustin's body had been.

"This ceremony will go forth," Vypra hissed. "Blood has been spilt and it is still hot… we can make allowances." She paused and gave all of them loathing glances. "The power will be mine! And nothing can stand in my way!"

She reached for a vial of… herbs of some type sitting on a low table by the altar. Surprisingly enough, that table had not been knocked over in the general chaos that had followed her killing Dustin. What… She reached up with the handful of herbs and cackled.

"There's still time."

"No!" Maya screamed, rushing forward.

But any attempts to reach the altar were in vain. Owling materialized in front of them and crossed his arms over his chest. "Going somewhere?" he asked.

"Owling!" Maya pleaded. "Stop this! You're not evil."

He cocked his head and smiled. That smile was nefarious. "Not evil?" He chuckled as if the very idea of that was amusing to him. "I serve King Jareth and Princess Vypra."

"They're going to destroy the world if this succeeds," Maya replied. "No one can harness that much power. It will spin out of control and destroy the world." She stepped closer to him and powered down. "Your own brother will be destroyed."

"I don't have a brother," he hissed. He raised a thin hand and slapped Maya away from the steps. She stumbled backwards. Taylor reached out and steadied her.

"Maya," Taylor said. "Whatever's wrong with this guy, we're not going to gain anything by letting him push us around or talking to him."

"I have no intention of letting him push us around," Maya growled. She held her morpher out. "Go galactic!" She was morphed once more.

Taylor looked around. The four of them standing in front of the altar were the four yellow rangers that were left. She, Kira and Kelsey stepped forward to form a line with Maya. She glanced down the line and smiled when she saw how they had arranged themselves. Maya was at the far end with Kelsey on her left. Taylor stood next to her with Kira on her left. It was the order in which they had become Power Rangers.

Conner, Tori and Eric were still up on the balcony.

It was up to them—the Yellow Rangers, the ones this task had been assigned to.

"You will not get away with this," Maya growled. She jumped up and landed in a defensive position. She almost looked like a wolf. "Galaxy Yellow," she said, announcing her intentions to the fairy before them. Rangers announced their color and team affiliation before large battles, when something could go wrong. It was kind of stupid, but all of them had done it and there was pride in it.

Kelsey saluted and landed into her defensive position. "Yellow ranger," she started. "Rescue ready."

Taylor pushed off the ground and landed into the defensive position she had used for years, even before becoming a ranger. "Soaring eagle!" she called.

Kira was the last one to go. She landed in her position and called, "Ptera power!" She paused and followed it by, "Yellow ranger!"

Owling smirked. "You chits think you can battle me to get to the altar?"

"We don't think," Taylor snapped. "We know."

After a moment's pause, the four of them rushed forward. Wherever this fairy had learned to fight, he had learned it from the best. Each move, he blocked, including weapons even though he, himself, had no weapon. It was insane how good this fairy was…

"Remember," Maya cried at him as she swung at him with her saber.

He grabbed the end of the saber and flung it away from him. "I remember nothing."

Kira ran at him with her Ptera-Grips. Sparks flew from where she hit him before he threw her backwards. Taylor fired with her crystal saber. He opened his palm and caught the energy in his palm, blasting it back at her. The force of it flung her backwards so that she landed next to Kira.

"Are you all right?" the Dino Ranger asked.

"I'm fine," she replied.

"You can't stop me," Owling said. "I'm immortal."

"That's nice," Taylor said sarcastically, firing her crystal saber. That caught him off guard and he landed on one of the steps to the altar.

"Looks like he's not so tough," Kira commented.

Vypra remained in the background, oblivious to them. Taylor wanted so badly to get around Owling and charge at the altar, knock whatever was in Vypra's hand to the floor, but each time she also succeeded, Owling would throw her back. The same thing continued to happen to the others. Vypra was muttering an incantation and sprinkling the herbs in the blood on the altar. Something was happening. Taylor could feel the energy gathering in the room, but she had to concentrate on taking Owling down.

"Quasar launcher!" Maya called. Immediately, a huge bazooka looking thing was on her shoulder. She fired a blast of yellow energy at Owling. It stunned him for a second.

And that second was all that Taylor needed.

She skirted around Owling and to the small table sitting beside the altar. With a deft kick, she knocked over the table, scattering the contents all over the floor. "You, silly girl," Vypra taunted. "I don't need that table anymore."

Taylor kicked at the vial she held in her hand. But she never made contact with the demon or what the demon was holding. Vypra threw out her free hand and Taylor felt like phantom restraints were holding her.

"You are bothersome," Vypra sneered.

She lifted her hand and Taylor felt herself lift with the action. Soon she was high in the temple. Vypra opened her palm and made a pushing action. Taylor felt herself thrown against the wall as the phantom restraints disappeared. As she hit the floor, she felt herself involuntarily power down.

* * *

Z haphazardly parked the Jeep in the camp. She had driven most of the way to Mariner Bay with the sirens on, giving her free clearance through the traffic. Of course, that was highly against the SPD handbook, but she didn't care. If Crugger or someone caught her, she would be able to explain… maybe… The camp site in Mariner Bay was crawling with Halloween crazies and little kids in costumes. 

She jumped out of the Jeep and ran towards the camp site. Distant voices told her she was going in the correct direction. It was almost like something was calling her to go in the correct direction. She ran into a clearing that looked like it was full of old ruins of something. Skidding to a halt, she froze at the figure in the moonlight.

A thing that looked almost like a lion, except for the talon and the beak, was sitting next to a hatch in the ground. Someone was lying on the ground next to him. She ran forward and knelt next to the man on the ground.

He was dead… He was the one she had seen in the vision.

Z looked up at the creature. It nodded at her. He was guarding the man. She didn't know how or why, but he was guarding it. The creature also seemed to know she was another yellow ranger and there to help since he hadn't attacked her—and it was obvious that he could.

"A Space Patrol Delta officer?" a voice asked.

Z stood up and faced the voice. A woman was walking towards her. She was wearing a yellow sweater over a blouse. Her hair was light brown and pulled back into a simple ponytail. Something about her screamed 'mom.' Her eyes fell onto the man lying next to the griffin.

"He's the one that died," she whispered. She looked at Z. "You're a yellow ranger too?"

Z nodded. "SPD B squad Yellow Ranger." She paused. "I'm Elizabeth Delgado. But most people call me Z."

The woman nodded. "I'm Ashley Hammond." She held up a wrist with something that looked like a morpher on it. "The Yellow Space Ranger."

"Who was he?" Z asked, looking at the man again.

Ashley shrugged. "I don't know. I only know about the rangers up to the Galaxy Rangers and he's too young to have been with them."

"Hey!"

The pair looked up to see three African-American women coming towards them. One of them had long hair in tiny braids—most of which was tied back in a ponytail. She was wearing pale yellow scrubs and a white lab coat. Another one had shorter, straight hair and was wearing a yellow jacket over jeans and a shirt. The final one had curly hair and was wearing a strange white uniform.

"Ashley!" one of the women said and they embraced.

Introductions were done quickly. Z learned that the first woman was Aisha Campbell, the second yellow ranger on Earth. The woman who had known Ashley was Tanya Sloane-Park, the Yellow Zeo Ranger. The final woman had met up with the pair of them at the entrance to the camp. She was Katie Walker, the Yellow Time Force Ranger and from the year 3004. Any other time, Z would have been overwhelmed to see this many yellow rangers in one spot, but right now, it didn't seem important.

"Rangers."

A warm, deep voice interrupted the formalities. Z turned and saw a bald man wearing a black kimono standing behind them. It wouldn't have fazed her, except for the fact that the man was transparent and bluish. He almost looked like a ghost…

"Zordon?" Aisha and Tanya asked at the same time.

"Yes," he replied. "There isn't much time. The five of you must help your fellow yellow rangers stop Vypra and her madness."

"Who's Vypra?" Z asked.

Zordon gave her a compassionate gaze. "A demon. She is trying to destroy the gates between the mortal realm and the spirit realm. She believes that she will gain much power by doing this. However, the power is so great, that she cannot harness it. It will be sent into the world and destroy this realm and the spirit realm."

"That's great," Z said weakly.

"Aisha, Tanya," Zordon said. "Step forward. I will restore your morphing power to you so that you can help win this battle."

The two women stepped forward. Blue sparkles went towards them and a large device appeared in Aisha's hand. Two strange looking bracelets appeared on Tanya's wrists. However, neither of them looked disturbed. Z supposed that that was their morphers.

Zordon looked at all of them. "You have all served the legacy well. Now it is time for you to step up and help the others." His gaze went directly to her. Z felt uncomfortable under that gaze. It was like he could see to her very soul. "Elizabeth," he said. "You are the newest yellow ranger. The choice could not have been better."

"Where do we need to go?" Aisha asked.

Zordon motioned to the sewer pothole that was near the griffin. "The lair is through there. Take the north direction and it will lead you straight to where you need to go."

"Who was he?" Ashley asked, motioning to the still man.

"He was Dustin Brooks," Zordon replied, a hint of sadness in his voice. "He was the Yellow Wind Ranger." He paused. "I hope that his sacrifice will not be in vain." He glanced at all of them. "Good luck rangers. Morph here and then enter the lair. May the power protect you."

With that, he disappeared into blue sparkles.

"Well," Ashley said. "I guess we need to morph."

Everyone nodded in agreement. Z looked at them and realized that the morphing would start with the most experienced ranger—and that appeared to be Aisha.

Aisha stepped forward. "Ready?" she asked.

"Ready," the group confirmed.

"Ninjetti—the bear!" Aisha was transformed. Her uniform resembled a yellow ninja type outfit, her face completely covered save for two eye holes.

"Zeo ranger 2—yellow!" The Yellow Zeo Ranger appeared. She had a skirt on her uniform along with some strange gold marking around her collar and gloves.

"Let's rocket!" Ashley called. The Yellow Space Ranger came into being. She also had a skirt along with five different colored squares across her chest. Her helmet was also identical to the helmets that the A squad at SPD had.

"Time for Time Force!" Katie appeared as the Yellow Time Force Ranger. She didn't have a skirt, but the visor on her helmet was yellow. It made Z wonder how she could see.

It was her turn. "SPD emergency!" she called. In a second, she was transformed.

Aisha turned and looked at all of them, before each of them jumped down the hatch into a dark tunnel. "Let's go," Aisha said as they started to walk in the direction that Zordon had pointed them.

* * *

"Taylor!" Kira cried as the Wild Force Ranger powered down. Taylor was slumped against the wall on the far side of the temple. She was dirty and looked to be unconscious from the line of blood running down from her temple. 

Owling shook his head. "When will you learn?"

"Kira!" Maya yelled as she swung at Owling with her saber. "Go to Taylor and make sure she's okay!"

Kira nodded and shot at Owling with her blaster. The fairy snarled and stepped back, only to be accosted by Kelsey and Maya. She ran across the room and knelt down next to Taylor's still form. She was breathing—that much was good.

"Taylor," she said, shaking her fellow yellow ranger. "Taylor!"

She blinked and focused her blue eyes on Kira. "Kira?" she croaked.

"Just stay here," Kira said. "Stay out of the way."

Something jumped from the balcony down to the temple floor. Kira looked and saw the sphinx heading straight for them. She smiled—this one had to be Taylor's ancient animal spirit. From what she had seen with the griffin and the way it mourned for Dustin, she knew that each spirit was fiercely protective of them.

"I will guard her," the sphinx said in her voice that almost sounded like singing. "Don't worry about her."

Kira nodded. The sphinx stepped forward and curled her body around Taylor. The Wild Force Ranger's fingers grasped at the soft lion fur on the sphinx's body. She turned and looked to where Maya and Kelsey were still battling Owling. On the balcony, Eric, Conner, Tori and the unicorn were fighting the never-ending stream of Batlings, various demons and goblins. The Pegasus was flying by the ceiling with the phoenix.

Where were all these goblins coming from?

Goblins poured from another door to the main temple. Maya and Kelsey wouldn't be able to take on them and Owling. She gave a shrill whistle. No one else turned but the unicorn. Those bright blue eyes alighted on her and there was a flicker of understanding. He reared back with a wild snort and jumped over the goblins on the balcony. In a graceful arc, he landed on the ground of the temple and galloped over to her.

"You're like the fighting unicorns from Narnia, aren't you?" she whispered, stroking the snow-white flank, before swinging herself onto the unicorn.

He whinnied and reared on his hind legs. She had to grab his mane in order to stay on. Turning in a half-circle, he charged at the goblins on the ground, swinging his horn in a long stroke. She had never noticed that a unicorn's horn could become a weapon before. She had always viewed unicorns as something pure and innocent, untouched by the world. But those horns were sharp and could impale something on it. Unicorns really were fighters and not something that was easily scared off.

She twisted on his back to see the sphinx smacking goblins away from her and Taylor with her large lion paw. The goblins would squeal as they went backwards. For their numbers, goblins sure were easily defeated. It made her wonder how all these goblins were being created—was if for every one that died two came about? She didn't know and she didn't care. This battle was slowly going downhill.

"Fire of night," Vypra was screeching, her arms raised towards the ceiling of the room. The crushed herbs in her hands went all over the place. Maya and Kelsey struggled against Owling to reach her and stop her.

"Don't!" Maya was screaming.

On the balcony, the Pegasus landed, flapping his large and powerful wings, driving back the goblins that were attacking Eric, Conner and Tori. The phoenix landed on Eric's shoulder and several large tears fell onto his shoulder. He grabbed it and rolled it, then saluted the phoenix.

"Thanks," he said.

The unicorn swung his horn in another wide arc. Goblins scattered, trying not to be in the path of that sharp, lethal horn. Kira pushed her legs against the unicorn's sides. "To the altar," she whispered to her animal.

He charged forward, causing goblins to jump out of the path. She hated to think what happened to the goblins that weren't quick enough to move. Another wide arc with the horn cleared most of the goblins away from Maya and Kelsey so that they could keep on fighting Owling. She steered the unicorn around so that they were standing in between Maya and Kelsey and the oncoming goblins.

"Hear my spell!" Vypra cried.

Dark clouds began to form at the ceiling of the temple. What was happening here? The goblins started to squeak and shy away, especially from the unicorn. Batlings flew around and a few were taken down by the unicorn's horn.

"We need help!" someone screamed.

Kira vaguely recalled Maya's web of dreams. If Dustin was dead, it would have come to life, but how would those other yellow rangers know where to find them? It seemed to her that their reinforcements had come in the shape and size of their ancient animal spirits. Could it be possible that the other yellow rangers would come?

"By the light of All Hallow's Moon," Vypra continued.

The dark clouds began to swirl around and streaks of lightening crossed them. Kira swallowed and hung onto the unicorn for dear life. The last thing she wanted was to go flying across the room and land God only knows where.

"Energy and blood spilt here—harvest thyself for my use!"

The herbs and blood on the altar began to rise and swirl. It was like that mixture and the dark clouds above them would combine to do… whatever it was Vypra was going to do to destroy the gates between the realms. Something had to be done, but what? She was protecting Maya and Kelsey.

"For this purpose, the gates must be destroyed…"

"No!" Maya was screaming. "You don't know what you're doing!"

"Silence!" Owling told her, throwing her backwards. She backed into the unicorn. He turned and looked at Owling. Kira suddenly had an idea. Whispering into the unicorn's ear, he snorted and pawed the ground.

The next thing she knew, the unicorn had rushed forward—Maya and Kelsey jumping out of the way—and had impaled Owling on his long horn. Owling was stunned for a moment, but a smile cracked his face.

"You forget. I'm immortal." He pushed himself off of the horn, the hole in his stomach healing as he did it.

"Look!" Maya yelled.

Kira turned and looked up on the balcony. Five other figures in yellow ranger suits were standing up there. Could it be? The other Yellow Rangers had heard their cry? 

_To Be Continued..._

* * *

**Author's Note:** Midterms... whoever invented them should be shot! I just want to let everyone know that I've been reading the reviews. Thanks for all your kind words and support! I'm off to type the take-home portion of my 19th Century American Literature midterm... then it's spring break! Finally! 


	26. Phoenix Tears

**Disclaimer:** To quote Chris Rock from _Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back_, "I think George Lucas gonna sue somebody." I don't own them. Don't sue me. All you'll get is a dirty sock and my younger brothers and, trust me, you don't want them.

**RESTLESS WARRIORS**

By Etcetera Kit

**Chapter Twenty-Six: Phoenix Tears **

Taylor looked up blearily from where she was protected by the large body of the sphinx. Five other people in yellow ranger suits were standing on the balcony. More yellow rangers? Had that web of dreams Maya had made actually worked? Her finger clutched at the warm, soft fur on the sphinx's body. It had the body of a large female lion and served well as a barrier between Taylor and the raging battle beyond her.

Would these rangers do what they had done—announce their color and team affiliation in the time-honored ranger tradition? Because the only ranger up there she recognized was Katie, the Yellow Time Force Ranger. And how had she gotten here? Wasn't she supposed to be in the year 3000 or something ridiculous like that? Taylor was confused and her head was starting to pound.

"Ninjetti—the bear!" the one in the yellow ninja outfit called.

"Zeo Ranger 2—yellow!" the one next to her in a normal yellow uniform, but with strange gold writing around the color and gloves called out.

"Yellow Space Ranger," a woman in another normal yellow uniform called. She had five colored squares across her chest… interesting.

"Time Force Yellow!" Katie called.

"Four!" the last woman with a helmet that looked like a bug called. "SPD Yellow Ranger!" She must be the new girl.

The five of them jumped down from the balcony, landing gracefully on the ground. All the goblins and demons cleared the way, lest they be crushed by flying Yellow Rangers.

The dark cloud at the ceiling began to swirl ominously and the lightening strikes began larger and not confined to the clouds. Lightening was streaking down into the temple, leaving black marks on the dirt floor where it struck. The strange cloud thing that Vypra was working on raising from the altar was becoming higher and larger. It was like she was channeling her energy into that creation and was losing. Sweat was on her brow and she was starting to look like she was in serious pain. Taylor didn't know that demons could feel pain.

Maya whirled around from the altar and said, "Ashley?"

At the same time, Kelsey said, "Katie?"

The woman who had announced herself as the Space Ranger ran forward, some sort of weapon out and hit Owling in the shoulder. He snarled—he was quite good at snarling. Katie ran forward, firing a couple shots from her chrono-blaster.

"Where are the others?" Ashley asked Maya as Kelsey and Katie temporarily took over battling the fairy gone bad.

Maya pointed to Taylor who was still behind the sphinx and Kira who was on the back of the unicorn. The unicorn was proving to be their best weapon with the way his horn was causing goblins and demons to squeak and run away. Eric, Conner and Tori were still doing their best against the demons on the balcony, those numbers having seriously thinned between the creatures and the other yellows.

"That is a unicorn," the new girl said.

"Uh-huh," Kira replied.

"Delta blaster!" the SPD Ranger called and pulled a small blaster from her belt.

Unable to stand watching the battle anymore, Taylor pulled her growl phone from her pocket and struggled to her feet.

"Where are you going?" the sphinx asked her.

"To help my friends," she replied. She pressed the morph button on her phone. "Wild access," she said into the phone. A few seconds later, she appeared morphed. She still felt weak and wasn't sure how long she would be able to stay morphed, but, hopefully, it would be enough. She pulled out her crystal saber, aware that the sphinx was following closely behind her.

The lightening strikes were now connecting with the weird cloud Vypra had created from the things that were on the altar. "Jareth!" she was screeching. "I need you."

Taylor wasn't sure how that demon managed to do it, but he appeared next to Vypra at the altar, closing his eyes and combining his energy with hers. His pale hands covered hers as the storm that was brewing in the temple seemed to grow.

"What the hell is that?" someone yelled.

"You don't want to know," Taylor muttered, moving forward with a pronounced limp. One of her legs had taken the brunt of her fall—nothing was broken, but she would probably have one impressive bruise when all was said and done. She picked up her crystal saber and aimed it at the pair at the altar. The shot hit Vypra in the shoulder and she was thrown back from the momentum.

"Vypra?" Jareth asked, as if he were not sure what hit her.

Vypra pushed herself to her feet and launched a bolt of energy at Taylor. She ducked it and it hit the wall behind her. More pieces of earth began to crumble precariously at the treatment it was receiving.

The Yellow Zeo Ranger was at her side, helping her back to her feet. Taylor nodded at the woman as she used the sphinx to steady herself even further. "Thanks," she said.

"No problem." Pulling out a small blaster, the woman fired at the altar. The shot hit the side of the stone and sparks flew, but nothing changed about what was happening.

"We need to combine forces at the altar!" Taylor called.

It was correct. The demons would not be stopped if intermittent shots were fired—something bigger needed to stop them. From the individual battles raging, she felt like their best chance was to work together. Stronger as one… It was time that the lesson all of them had learned at one point came together.

"Bring them down!" Kelsey yelled to the Pegasus, meaning to get Tori, Eric and Conner off of the balcony and down on the ground with everyone else. The large white winged horse flapped his wings, driving back the goblins and demons, before lowering himself so that Tori could scramble onto his back.

He took two more trips—once more for Conner and then Eric. When the Quantum Ranger landed safely on the ground with the others, he came over to her, lacing a supporting arm around her waist.

The others on the ground took that as a cue to try to move it closer to the altar. The demons began to close in on them from all sides as that move came into being. It was like they were forming a circle around them and nothing could break it. Where in the world were all these demons coming from?

"There's too many!" someone cried.

"You can't win," Owling said, smiling.

Eric hauled her up by her belt, keeping her from collapsing because of her injured leg. Any other time, she would have been insulted that Eric and a huge cat-like thing thought she needed protection, but now, she was grateful to have them around. He supported her against his side, using his free arm to fire his Quantum Defender.

"We need to combine weapons," Maya called.

"How?" someone responded.

Taylor aimed her crystal saber as best she could from her awkward position against Eric's side. He held out the arm that had his Quantum Defender and moved to aim the weapon better. Her teeth felt like they were being rattled from all his jostling, but it was that or end up in a heap on the ground behind the sphinx like before.

"Everyone fire their weapons at once," Taylor yelled.

There were several cries that produced weapons—among them were 'Quasar Launcher', 'Thundermax Saber', 'V-Lancer' and 'Star Slinger.' Taylor didn't have time to comprehend what was going on. Owling was still standing before them and a crowd of demons were behind them. This was now or never.

The yellows lined up—in order of seniority, like she, Kira, Kelsey and Maya had earlier. The woman in the yellow ninja outfit was at one end of the line, while the newbie with the bug helmet was at the other end. She found herself next to Eric with Katie on his other side. Tori stood next to her. She felt a pang of grief as she realized who should have been on her other side. Dustin… no… there would be time to grieve later. Now, they needed to take action against this.

She looked down the line. Weapons were held at the ready—various types of blasters, launchers and other weapons were brandished.

"Ready?" she yelled.

"Ready," was the response. All blasters that had been at the ready were now aimed at the pair of demons at the altar and the fairy standing before them.

"Fire!"

A blast of yellow lights, mingled in with red and blue erupted across the altar. Owling fell the moment it happened. Taylor couldn't be sure if he was truly dead or just stunned. His still form was the least of their worries.

"No!" Vypra shrieked as she was thrown backwards.

Jareth didn't say anything, but his stunned look was enough to prove that he hadn't been expecting them to combine forces.

Both demons were thrown away from the altar and a strong wind between the storms began to blow. It almost looked like it was intensifying.

"You fools!" Vypra cried. "I will have my revenge."

She leapt forward onto the altar just as the storm exploded. Light and bits of herbs and blood were flung in all directions. Eric pushed Taylor down to the ground and the noise she made was muffled as most of his weight came down on her without warning. A stream of light came up from the altar, illuminating Vypra for a moment before the entire thing collapsed.

Then, it imploded in on itself.

All was still and Vypra was nowhere to be seen.

* * *

"Did it work?" someone asked. 

Kira peered up from where she was on the ground. Conner had thrown her to the ground when that last explosion occurred and his body was covering hers. She nudged him with her elbow, getting him to move so that she could breathe.

"Sorry," he muttered as he moved so he was next to her.

She sat up. The temple was in utter ruins. Blood and bits of herb stained the walls and all of the rangers' suits. The balcony was truly crumbling now—bits of it falling in a delicate dirt stream. All of the demons and goblins were gone. She picked up her blaster from where it had flown from her hands when the storms collided and collapsed. Then she got sight of her uniform.

While everyone else was covered in gunk, she had somehow excluded herself from the equation. "Yuck," she muttered. "Power down." Her suit disappeared and was replaced by her muddy, albeit cleaner, civilian clothes.

There was a lot of muttering of 'power down' and people began to appear in their civilian forms. Everyone was rumpled and dirty—no worse for the wear than usual. She blinked at the rangers who had just joined them. She vaguely recognized some of them from the archives that Doctor O kept, but the newest one—the one who had stood to the left of her and Conner—was one that she didn't recognize. She was wearing an SPD uniform which meant that she was, for all intents and purposes, a cop.

Maya stood up and walked slowly to the altar. The pink sweater that she had valued so highly was ruined—it was dirt and blood stained. She laid a hand on the altar, which was now blackened from the lightening and cracked down the middle. "Their ceremony could not complete with no one to control it," she said softly. "It is over."

Eric stood up and helped Taylor to her feet. "We stopped it?" Taylor asked.

Maya nodded, a sad smile over her lips. "I think we owe this victory to the other yellow rangers who came at the right moment to help us."

"Yeah, can we introduce ourselves?" the woman in the SPD uniform asked.

The Pegasus pushed past her and leaned over to nudge Kelsey. The Lightspeed Ranger absently patted the stallion before using his mane to pull herself to her feet. The unicorn was at her shoulder, his long, lethal horn in front, protecting. The phoenix flew down and landed gracefully at Maya's shoulder. The sphinx was still flanking Taylor, as it had been since she had been thrown against the wall. The other rangers were probably wondering where all these mythical creatures came from as well.

Maya leaned over and helped Tori to her feet. The Blue Wind Ranger had a combination of relief and sorrow on her face. She had been the closest to Dustin out of all of them and was going to be the one most affected by his death. The Galaxy Ranger tucked a piece of Tori's flyaway hair behind her ear.

"I am Maya," she said softly. No one was talking, so there was no missing her words. She motioned to Tori. "This is Tori. She was the Blue Wind Ranger."

"You were the Yellow Galaxy Ranger," the Space Ranger added. "I'm Ashley," she added. "Yellow Space Ranger." She paused and motioned to the two African American women in yellow that Kira vaguely recognized. "That's Aisha and Tanya—the Yellow Ninjetti and Zeo Rangers."

Conner got up and held out a hand to her. She accepted it and he hauled her to her feet—she had almost forgotten that Conner could pick her up and put her wherever he wanted, because he was a foot taller than her and a lot stronger. "Kira," she said, picking up the introductions for everyone who didn't know. "And that's Conner."

Taylor elbowed Eric in the chest, since he had an arm around her waist. He glared at her, before picking up the meaning of the gesture. "Eric," he said, then pointed to Taylor. "That's Taylor." He then picked out Katie and motioned to her. "That's Katie."

"Sure am," the Yellow Time Force Ranger agreed. She gave Eric an appraising look. "I wasn't expecting to find you here."

"It's all this one's fault," he said, hauling Taylor to a better standing position against his side. Taylor smacked him.

"Let me go," she growled.

Eric ignored her.

"Uh, Kelsey," the Lightspeed Ranger picked up.

That left the SPD officer. "I'm Z," she said simply. "You guys are all yellow rangers too?"

"I'm not," Eric said quickly.

"Neither am I," Conner added.

"No," Taylor said to Eric. "You're just the sixth ranger hanger-on who got into his Silver Guardians command position by stealing a morpher."

"There's still time for me to take back that ring," Eric threatened.

Kira gazed at all the yellow rangers. All of them were so different from one another, but they shared the yellow ranger legacy. She wondered how many of them had chosen to be rangers and how many had it dumped in their laps, like she and Conner had. The connections between the others showed. Kira thought to Dustin… he had been the connection she and Conner had had with previous rangers, aside from Doctor O. Now… she fought against the lump that was growing in her throat. They had let him down. They had promised to keep him out of harm's way and what had happened?

Conner gently pulled her into his arms. The tears began to flow as she laid her head against his chest. The reality of the situation was setting in. Before, they had been engaged in a battle and there hadn't been time to think about… what had happened. She looked up and saw that Conner was not in any better shape than she. He had known Dustin as well. She almost didn't want to look at Tori, to see what one of Dustin's best friends was feeling.

She glanced at the others anyways. Kelsey and Maya were comforting Tori. Taylor was still leaning against Eric, but she was no longer trying to get free of his grasp. Both of them were silent, pain and sorrow written over their features. Neither one of them would cry. Both of them would deal with their grief in their own way. The other yellow rangers looked a little lost—not sure what was happening among them. But no one spoke, out of respect. Kira suspected that the other yellows knew about what had happened to Dustin, because the web of dreams would not have been awakened until the point of death.

"Guys, I hate to bring this up," Eric said. "But where is Jareth?"

"Was he destroyed with Vypra?" Kelsey asked.

"No," Maya said slowly. "Vypra was destroyed because she willing jumped into that maelstrom. No… he's somewhere."

"Think we better find him?" Eric asked.

"No," Taylor shot back sarcastically. "Let's leave him to his own devices."

"Hey!" Conner said loudly. "None of that."

"Split up," Taylor said. "And make sure someone with you knows their way around this place halfway decently."

Conner dropped his arms from her waist in order to take her hand. They started off towards the small side room off the temple. Z and Ashley ended up coming with them. Kira imagined that Kelsey and Maya were still trying to take care of Tori, while Katie was going to stick with Eric and Taylor, the former of whom had been part of her ranger team. The temple was in complete shambles since the spell had not been completed.

Kira knew that she should have felt happy, because they had succeeded. This was something that the ninjas and the spirit realm would talk about for some time. And it had shown them the way in their lives. Some happiness should have been felt, but all she could feel was a heavy burden. They needed to take Dustin to the Wind Ninja Academy and they needed to inform his family and other friends about what had happened. No one wanted to perform that particular task.

Ashley had very motherly and caring presence. She didn't seem to feel the need to pepper anyone with questions. Z, on the other hand, seemed to be restraining herself from asking questions about… everything. Kira was happy that she was keeping quiet. She and Conner would have to talk so that Conner could hand the history down to their Red Ranger and keep the tradition going.

They were silent as they surveyed the staircase—it had somehow managed to survive the impact of the balcony crumbling and that explosion of power. Kira did not see any other doors or ways that Jareth could have escaped from here. The unicorn was still at her shoulder, his large warm body as comforting as the hold she had on Conner's hand. She was glad to have two beings that were fiercely protective of her. It almost made her wonder how long the unicorn was going to stick around.

"No!" someone cried from the main temple.

That seemed to be their war cry lately. Her and Conner exchanged a glance before turning and running towards the altar, with the unicorn, Z and Ashley close on their heels. They entered the main temple and came to a screeching halt.

Jareth was standing there. He had an arm around Tori with one of the scattered knives held just below her throat.

"Just back away and leave here," he was saying.

"Why?" Maya asked, holding her hands out and taking a step forward.

Jareth jerked Tori back. She cried out in fear and pain, the knife coming ever closer to her throat. No… she was not going to suffer the same fate as Dustin!

"You have disrupted my plan and my kingship!" he sneered. "See how all the goblins and demons under my command fled when the spell wasn't completed."

"Let Tori go," Maya said in a low voice. "She doesn't have anything to do with this."

"Yes well," he said quickly. "You've heard all the stories of goblins and demons and fairies kidnapping human babies."

"Yeah, we've heard them," Taylor replied. "What does that have to do with anything?"

Jareth jerked Tori backwards again, as if one of them would run up at any moment and try to take her from him. Owling was still on the floor below the altar.

"Let her go," Kelsey repeated.

"Oh, I'll let her go," Jareth said. "When she has safely delivered her baby and that child is under my control."

Kira's mind froze. Tori? Pregnant? 

_To Be Continued..._

* * *

**Author's Note: **I apologize for updating a day late. However, I was in the car for fourteen hours yesterday trying to get home for spring break. Then, there was the oh-so-wonderful task of getting the internet set up and... you all know the drill. Updates will come regularly from now on. Also, I do remember a question someone asked in the last round of reviews about why I had Aisha in the Ninjetti stuff rather than the norm. To answer, it was more to set her apart from Trini than anything else. If you guys have other pressing questions, e-mail me with like POWER RANGERS in the subject line and I'll get back to you! 


	27. One Step Ahead

**Disclaimer:** Belongs to Disney. No infringement intended.

**RESTLESS WARRIORS**

By Etcetera Kit

**Chapter Twenty-Seven: One Step Ahead **

Ashley stared at the knife in Jareth's hand, as if it were detached from the whole situation. It was like the thing was in its own dimension and acting of its own free will. But there was that hand attached to it—it was real and it was coming dangerously close to Tori's throat. If that demon had only the slightest bobble of the hand, then Tori was done for or she would at least sustain a serious injury. She tried to calm her thudding heart and sweaty palms. She had never had experience with enemies that used such _crude_ weapons. She was used to laser guns and satellite beams and asteroids and things of that nature, not knives. How were they supposed to respond to that? And that girl was pregnant? She couldn't be more than nineteen or twenty. There was so much about these people and these demons that she didn't know… it made her wonder if Dustin was this baby's father.

Eric gently eased Taylor onto the sphinx with Katie standing close by. He approached the altar with his hands raised and his palms outward. It seemed like the mark of someone who had been in a similar situation before. What did Eric do for a living? No one had offered occupations with the initial introductions. Of course, the sadness was evident in all their voices. She hadn't known Dustin, but her heart went out to them regardless.

"You don't want to do this," he said in a soft, coaxing voice. It was like he was trying to get a kitten out of a tree. "The ceremony has been disrupted and it can't be reconciled. Taking Tori won't change anything." He paused and took another tentative step forward, his dark eyes carefully neutral and masking all his emotions. "Let her go and you can go flee into the spirit realm. _We_ won't bother you again."

"Fool," Jareth hissed, yanking Tori back another step. She winced and her blue eyes were fixed on the knife blade. "It's all a matter of leverage." Tori's blue eyes widened and were alight with fear. Her hands clutched feebly at the iron grip that held her to that demon.

Eric narrowed his eyes. "What are you talking about?"

"If I have something those stupid former rangers want to keep safe, then I will continue to be safe." He paused. "Once I have her child, nothing in the spirit realm will be able to hurt me." His smile grew wide and malicious. "Oh yes, the child of a ranger… that is a prize to be won amongst the demons."

Ashley swallowed as quietly as she could, thinking to her own daughter at home. Would he stop at Tori? Would all of them be in danger? She glanced to Tori again and couldn't help but feel that Tori hadn't known she was pregnant. The surprise at hearing that news couple with the fact that someone wanted the baby—it wasn't good. If Dustin was the baby's father, were they really going to let the last traces of him disappear into the spirit realm? Could a mortal even exist in the spirit realm?

"You're a demon," Eric replied. "You're immortal."

"A demon, yes. Bound to live for thousands of centuries, yes. But immortal? No." Jareth visibly shuddered. "You don't know what can happen." His eyes were glazed. Who was in charge of these demons? What did they have to fear? Ashley didn't know that a demon could actually die, but it seemed that Vypra had just been vaporized out of existence.

"Just let Tori go-"

"Shut-up!" Jareth snapped. He yanked Tori backward again. She was trying to struggle against that blade and the demon, but her efforts to escape seemed to have no effect. It was like he was made of steel or something equally as indestructible. Just what exactly were these demons? "I've made my choice. Now you can make yours. Back away from this temple and leave or know that you were the cause of her death!"

Eric slowly took a step back, his hands still raised. Ashley glanced to him. He had some kind of laser gun in a weapon harness at his thigh. His hands didn't move anywhere near it, but if one of them could get to it and take Jareth by surprise… No one could morph, since all of them had powered down and morphing would cause the demon to panic. That could not happen. She thought briefly to Serena and Andros at home… Tori was somebody's daughter, somebody's friend… how could Jareth just snatch her away from everything?

Then it occurred to her—this being had no feelings or conscience. He didn't care what he was doing to Tori by trying to take her away. He only saw what he could gain from the bargain. And it didn't make sense—his existence would be reduced to nothing more than a shadow of what it had been.

"Get out!" Jareth shrieked.

"No!" Tori cried as the blade pressed against her skin, a single drop of blood oozing from the shallow cut.

"Wait!" Ashley screamed, stepping forward. "We can talk to Zordon for you!"

"Zordon?" Jareth lowered the blade and looked interested.

She was suddenly aware of everyone in the room watching her intently. Their gazes showed so much—surprise, doubt, anxiety. But they had talked to Zordon, hadn't they? He had talked to the other yellow rangers. There had to be a way to talk to him now. For so long she had believed that Zordon would come if she called…

"Explain," Jareth demanded, his tone ominous.

"If we talked to Zordon," Ashley said, well aware of the fact that her voice was trembling. "We could get him to grant you clemency."

"There is no such thing as clemency in the spirit realm," he growled.

"But Zordon is powerful!" Ashley cried. "He holds a lot of power and influence. If he was protecting you, no one else would be able to harm you!"

"I don't believe you," the demon hissed. "Call him here now."

Oh no. Ashley had no idea how Zordon had come to them when the yellow rangers not already in the temple had congregated outside of the entrance. She imagined that Maya and the others had some other removed way of contacting him. This was bad.

There was an evil glint in Jareth's eyes. "You don't know," he said in a mocking tone. "It's all lies. You tell nothing but lies."

"Like you have a better track record," Kira muttered.

Maya stepped forward. "I can call Zordon, but I can't do it here. I need to go back to the camp site to make a fire and get my herbs."

"If you leave," Jareth said. "I leave with the girl."

Ashley looked back at the other horrified faces. No one knew how to approach this dilemma. It was either leave and know that Tori would be safe or stay and risk Jareth killing her and her baby. In fact, the Space Ranger was not even sure that they could trust that Jareth would not harm Tori. None of these villains were trustworthy—she had learned that time and time again with Divatox and then Astronema and her crew.

"If you'll just let me get my things!" Maya pleaded with him.

The demon remained cold and impassive. "You can do what you want. Either way, this child will be mine."

She couldn't be sure if he was talking about Tori or her baby, since Tori herself wasn't much more than a child. Her eyes darted to Eric, who was still holding his palms up. He was slowly backing towards Taylor and the sphinx. Maya had backed away too and had bumped into Kelsey and Katie.

"Get out!" Jareth shrieked again. He was starting to look panicked, as if he weren't sure that his leverage would hold out against these people. Either way, something somebody was going to regret was going to happen. Was he counting on them following their hearts or their minds? It was hard to say what this demon was hoping to gain from this. But if he thought that they would leave without one of their own… he was more delusional than she thought. Maybe he was broken up over Vypra's demise… maybe he loved her in some twisted sense and that was driving him to do this.

No one moved in light of all his shrieking. All of them were frozen in place, not sure where to err. Was it better to try to save Tori and risk sacrificing her? Or was it better to leave, ensuring their safety, but sacrificing Tori anyways? Someone was going to get hurt and it all spiraled back to Tori.

* * *

Taylor leaned a hand on the small of Eric's back as he stopped just before the sphinx and to the right of her. She was almost sitting on the sphinx's back. He was a Silver Guardian—he knew how to deal with terrorists, crazed people trying to jump off a bridge, psychopaths and all kinds of other nefarious characters. He glanced to her and their gazes met. His black eyes were not afraid or even panicked. Instead, he looked angry. Beyond the anger, there was something even deeper and she had a feeling that it was there for her. Love… 

He cared about all of them in his own unique way. He might not have _liked_ all of them, but he cared about them, didn't want to see any of them come to harm. In fact, he would probably end up being the most broken up about Dustin once they could get away from this temple and Jareth. She had a feeling he wasn't leaving without Tori in tow.

His right hand came behind his back and covered her hand. She could feel his strong fingers grasp her hand, gently stroking her knuckles. Her eyes went to his left hand, dangling idly at his side. It was hard to believe that wedding ring—the promise that that meant to him. Marriage was not just a fleeting stage. For him, it was a lifetime commitment, it was forever. He would ride out the storms, waiting for the calm. He had never once said he loved her…

But then she realized, he had never had to say that he loved her. He had other ways of saying it without words. Had she even told him that she loved him? Probably not. Neither of them were sentimental…

"Get out!" Jareth continued to shriek.

The stillness in the room and the silence grew.

"Are you deaf? Get out!" He brandished the knife. "I will kill her."

"No you won't, Jareth."

The voice seemed to come from out of nowhere. It was that sensual tenor that she had not heard since that camp fire when the leaders of the spirit realm had come to them. She twisted her head and saw a man walking from the back of the temple. His footsteps echoed eerily throughout the still chamber. His long black hair was loose and silky as it fell to his shoulders. His gold eyes burned with anger and hate. While wearing a simple white shirt and black pants, he had a blood red cape on over it. A delicate crown of silver came across his forehead and disappeared into his hair. His nails were long and tinted black, showing up marvelously against the crimson cape.

Lucivar…

Compared to Lucivar, Jareth was pathetic. He was shorter, thinner and pale with blonde hair and features like a rat. His clothes were also more elaborate and self-aggrandizing, not the simple, understated attire that suited the Prince of the Demons. The self-proclaimed King of the Goblins pulled the knife and Tori closer to him in a gesture that was supposed to be threatening. It came across as frightened and skittish, like a small child.

"Jareth…" Lucivar said in a mocking tone. "I know that being regulated to ruling the goblins was boring, but was it so boring that you had to join forces with my foolish sister?" He shook his head in mocking sadness. "Destroying the world will not get you back into anyone's graces." He paused. "And neither will kidnapping that girl."

"She is leverage," Jareth hissed, quite obviously afraid.

"Leverage?" Lucivar feigned surprise.

"What about your code of honor? You have to let the Yellow Rangers perform this task. You cannot interfere." His words were panicked and rising in pitch and volume.

Lucivar smiled a lazy, arrogant smile. "Ah, but you see, they have completed their task. They were supposed to stop this ceremony and they have. I am now free to do whatever I wish to you."

Jareth pressed the knife to Tori's throat. She cried out. "If you try to do something to met, I will kill the girl."

"And then I will destroy you. Either way, Jareth, you lose."

Lucivar pushed past the line of Yellow Rangers. For just a second, Taylor could have sworn that he had made eye contact with her and his gold eyes had flicked to Eric's Quantum Defender. What was he on about? There was no way that Eric could get the weapon and fire it without Jareth noticing and panicking, possibly causing more harm.

He stood in front of the altar, directly in front of Jareth and Tori. With a simple pull of the ties, his cape fell away to the floor beneath him. His gold eyes fell upon Owling—still on the ground. He leaned over the fairy and pressed his hands to his temple.

"Be free of the spells, my friend," he said softly.

Owling stirred and then blinked. He glanced at Lucivar and did a double-take. "Prince Lucivar?" he asked, sounding confused. "Where am I?" He slowly tried to push himself into a sitting position. Lucivar lowered his hands from Owling's head and moved to help him sit up.

"The underground demon temple on Earth," Lucivar replied.

"How did I get here? The last thing I remember was I was walking through the forest in Fairyland to meet Arval." Owling truly looked confused.

"That was the last thing you were doing, before Jareth kidnapped you to become Master of the Guard for his contorted scheme." He paused. "You will be returned to your people—do not worry about it."

Owling's eyes widened. "Oh no," he moaned. "I didn't hurt anyone, did I?"

Lucivar looked around at all of them, amusement in those strange eyes. "I don't believe you did hurt anyone. Not directly, at any rate."

A shadow fell over Owling's face at the implications of it. He had stopped them from getting into the temple and to Dustin in a timely fashion. Directly, he had not caused any of them harm. But indirectly, he had been the cause of so much that had happened to them.

"You are not responsible for your actions while under Jareth's spell," Lucivar assured him. "In fact…" He looked up and pinned Jareth with a menacing stare. "He is going to be punished for enslaving a fairy when it is obviously against our codes."

Jareth looked panicked. "The girl…" He faltered under that stare. His eyes flicked wildly from them to Lucivar and then back again.

"Let the girl go," Lucivar said. "You will also remember that it is against our codes to enslave mortals as well as fairies. If you go through with kidnapping the girl, I can tell you that the goblins and their king will no longer exist."

Jareth gulped audibly.

Lucivar was slowly advancing on him. Jareth was panicked and kept moving backwards, not knowing what else to do. He also seemed reluctant to let go of Tori—even though the odds were so obviously against him.

Taylor suddenly understood what Lucivar had been trying to tell her.

She flexed her fingers, coaxing Eric to let go of his grip on her hand. She then slowly slide her arm around Eric's waist so that it just looked like she had thrown a casual arm around him. Jareth was watching Lucivar, but he would notice if Eric went for the Quantum Defender. If she went for it—he wouldn't notice as quickly.

Her hand slid down his side until her fingers brushed the weapon. She quickly grasped the laser gun and pulled it from the weapons' harness it was in. She pulled it behind Eric's back so that Jareth would not notice it immediately.

Her eyes went to the cornered demon. She had a clear shot of his shoulder, since Tori was shorter than him. The only trouble was compensating for the fact that he could jerk Tori into the laser's path at any moment.

Quickly assessing the weapon, she pulled the safety trigger off and set the weapon for maximum power. Eric had taught her how to use this thing, even if it had been a long time ago, she remembered how to use it.

She glanced up at Jareth and Tori.

She had her shot.

And she took it.

* * *

Kelsey watched as that shot from the Quantum Defender sang forth. The shocked look on Jareth's face said that he was not expecting it and he didn't have to time react. The shot hit his shoulder and the momentum thrust him backwards and his arms outwards. 

That moment was all they needed. Tori dashed forward and Lucivar caught her, throwing her towards the rest of them.

Jareth was cowering against the wall, false tears coming to his eyes.

Taylor threw the Quantum Defender back at Eric. He caught the weapon and held it ready in his hands, advancing forward so he was even with Lucivar. The Demon Prince turned towards him.

"Your weapons are useless here," he said. "I will make sure that justice is served to this one."

"What happened to Vypra?" Eric asked.

Lucivar sighed. "She has gone back to the darkness. She sacrificed herself rather than living with what my judgment would be." He looked at Jareth and waved a hand over him. Jareth became still and his eyes looked glazed over.

Kelsey went over to Tori, carefully keeping her eyes on Lucivar and Eric the entire time. Tori was in a heap on the floor. She helped her up. She stood shakily, the shallow wound on her throat already scabbing over. They could look at it more when they got back to the camp site. Maya hurried over to them.

"Are you all right?" she asked Tori.

The girl nodded. Physically she might be all right, but mentally? No one would know until some serious questions could be asked about certain subjects.

"We need to get back to camp and talk to Zordon," Kelsey said to Maya.

The Galaxy Ranger nodded. "We do." She paused, her brown eyes growing distant and wistful. "But I think we need to contact Sensei Wantanabe first."

Kelsey swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat. They did need to contact the head of the Wind Ninja Academy so that he could contact all the proper authorities. There was some comfort in the fact that he would believe their tale. The Pegasus nudged her shoulder, blowing hot, horse-breath onto her cheek. She laid a hand on his nose. He snorted.

Lucivar was standing over the altar, his hands moving in a circular motion.

"What's wrong?" Kira called out.

He didn't answer, just continued what he was doing.

"Who is he?" Ashley asked.

"Lucivar," Kira replied. "He's the Prince of the Demons. Vypra was his sister."

"Who's side is he on?" Tanya questioned.

"Looks like his own," Conner responded. "But it looks like his side coincides with our side this time around."

Kelsey tuned out the banter that followed. She was concentrating on standing upright and not breaking down in front of everyone. She knew that it was unfair to blame a lot of what had happened on herself, but she did. Taylor pushed herself to her feet and hobbled over to her and Maya. Kira left the company of Conner and joined them. The four of them looked at each other, knowing that their circle would not be complete anymore.

"You need to leave," Lucivar said suddenly.

"Why?" Maya asked.

He looked pained. "The power that was created during the ceremony has not completely dissipated. It will not be enough to do any lasting harm, but it will be enough to destroy this temple." He paused. "You need to leave. NOW!"

With his last word, the ground beneath their feet began to rumble. It was like a minor earthquake was starting. She glanced over to Jareth. Lucivar picked him up and disappeared. Great. He was just going to leave them?

Chunks of rock began to fall from the ceiling of the room.

"Shit," Eric muttered.

"Leave now!" another voice said.

Kelsey knew that that voice did not belong to any of them. It sounded familiar, but she didn't know from where and didn't have time to contemplate it. 

_To Be Continued..._

* * *

**Author's Note: **Due to spring break madness, I have decided to update tonight rather than tomorrow as originally planned. My friend and I are taking a road trip and I'm not sure if we're leaving tomorrow or the next day... I do know we're going shopping tomorrow, not that anyone needs to know that. Thanks for reading and reviewing! You guys rock! 


	28. Deep Waters

**Disclaimer:** 'Power Rangers' is copyright of Disney. No infringement intended.

**RESTLESS WARRIORS**

By Etcetera Kit

**Chapter Twenty-Eight: Deep Waters **

Chunks of earth and rock began to fall from the ceiling of the room. Streams of dirt almost looked like tiny waterfalls. The earth beneath their feet began to tremble. Maya felt herself fall to the ground as a particular large rumble caught her off balance. The room was collapsing. She could feel the power moving and causing the destruction. The temple was slowly being destroyed and it would destroy them if they stood there.

Her heart was pounding in her chest. Someone grabbed her arms and hauled her back to her feet. She took in a deep breath and looked up at Eric. He was frowning and there was panic hidden behind his dark eyes.

"Come on!" Taylor called.

The Wild Force Ranger was already on the back of the sphinx and the creature was carrying her out the side room and towards the stairs. Eric was still supporting Maya as the phoenix came and landed on her shoulder.

"Phoenixes can carry large burdens," she muttered to herself.

"Maya, this isn't the time for myth lessons," Eric retorted, tugging on her arm.

"No!" she cried. "The animals!"

He gave her an exasperated look before picking her up around the waist and dragging her through the small side room and to the stairs behind the others. The Pegasus and unicorn were galloping behind the trail of people. They needed to use the animals. The animals could get them out of this and help them.

The phoenix was flying just around her head as they reached the stairs. The unicorn was the last of the previous group going up and, just as his hoof left the uppermost step, the entire staircase collapsed like water.

Eric swore.

"We need to use the phoenix," she said loudly over the roar of crumbling stone.

"That tiny bird cannot carry both of us!" he countered hotly.

Maya glared at him. The phoenix swooped low enough so that she could grab onto his tail feathers. This time, she grabbed Eric's arm and the phoenix took off with both of them in tow. She had remembered correctly. The phoenix could carry large amounts of weight. They lifted up to the balcony and the bird continued to carry them down the tunnel.

The wind whipped in her eyes combined with dust. She was afraid to close her eyes though as dirt began to put out the torches and some of the torches were shaken to the floor. Eric was swearing obscenely, but she tuned him out. In the distance, she could make out the outline of the unicorn.

She twisted her head to look back and saw that the tunnel behind them was collapsing almost as soon as they cleared a section.

"Hurry!" she urged the phoenix.

The shaft of moonlight could be seen in the distance, if they could make it before the tunnel fell in on them. The phoenix suddenly dropped them at the ladder and flew up the hatch. Maya pushed at Eric and he scrambled up the ladder.

"Come on!" he yelled.

She pushed herself up the ladder, but her footing wasn't solid and she slipped. Eric growled something and grabbed her upper arms, hauling her out of the tunnel. He rolled away from the hatch with her held close.

Maya could feel that the ground they were on was not stable either. The entire ruin of the temple was collapsing as well. She scrambled to her feet and the two of them bolted away from the impending disaster. The ruins seemed to sink in on themselves, leaving more of a mess than was already there.

"I think we've cleared it," Eric said, drawing in deep breaths.

Maya looked around. "Where are the others?"

The Quantum Ranger shook his head. "Campsite," he said between gasps.

They walked towards the camp site slowly. Maya looked up at the sky. She had lost track of time once they entered the underground temple. It seemed like it had been so long ago… The sky was now turning gray with a hint of the sunrise at the horizon. One whole night… It had taken them a whole night to stop the disaster. What time had the other yellow rangers finally arrived? It must have been late. She didn't know.

All she knew was that with the sunrise would come the new beginning that needed to rise from the ashes of their old existence. There were things to be done, things that needed to be taken care of… but right now, she wanted to savor the peaceful morning that was so far removed from the horrors of the night that it was almost surreal.

The others had made it to the campsite, she observed, as they walked upon the place that had been their home for over three weeks. Well, she, Kelsey, Taylor, Kira and Dustin's home for over three weeks. The creatures were close to their respective counterparts. No one was talking or moving. And she saw why.

The griffin had moved Dustin's body to their campsite and was guarding it with his huge, fearsome body. That animal had represented something inside Dustin… he had his problems and his shortcomings like the rest of them, but he had been the one who made the ultimate sacrifice for his friends and the Earth. Tears stung her eyes.

She was vaguely aware of the phoenix landing on her shoulder again. No words were needed as she knelt on the wet grass next to Dustin's still body. Taylor moved and sank to the grass beside one of his hands. Kira and Kelsey also joined them, their creatures just hovering over their shoulders. No one else moved closer to them. All stayed back at a respectful distance, even Tori, who had probably been the closest to him in life, remained back, crying silently.

They understood. This was for the four of them to say goodbye, before phone calls were made and the chaos started once again.

"He was the caretaker," Taylor said softly. Her blue eyes were full of pain and sadness. "Did we ever let him take care of us?"

Maya didn't reply. No… they had not let him be the caretaker. No one wanted or needed to be taken care of or… he was supposed to take care of himself first. What if…

"Not in the traditional way," Kira offered. Her hazel eyes were alight with emotion as she wiped away at a few stray tears that were coursing down her face. "He was… Dustin. He let us know what we needed to do through our interactions with him. He quietly showed us the way."

"None of this would have happened-" Taylor started.

"No," Kelsey cut her off. "Trini told me that Dustin doesn't blame us for what happened to him." The Lightspeed Ranger looked sad, but as if she had come to grips with the harsh reality of what had happened.

All of them gave Kelsey a wide-eyed stare. "Trini?" Kira croaked.

Kelsey nodded. "She said he has taken his place on the Council of Light."

"But… the phoenix…" Kira said. "The phoenix healed his body, couldn't it…"

That fragile hope flared in all their eyes. Maya couldn't remember enough of her lessons on phoenixes to know whether or not a phoenix could bring someone back from the dead. She hadn't thought so, but…

The crimson bird hopped from her shoulder to her hand, shaking his head.

"You really can't bring him back?" Maya asked softly.

"There is nothing left to sing the spirit back to the body," the sphinx said sadly. "Vypra slowly severed those links so that all strength to hang on fled."

"He can't be gone," Kira said, tears falling down her cheeks.

"If we could save him, we would," the sphinx replied. "But no spell can reawaken the dead."

"Vypra and Jareth got their way," Taylor spat bitterly.

"No!" Maya cried. "We can't think that." She paused, shaking her head. "None of us wanted to fight this war. But we did. Vypra and Jareth are gone." She took in a deep breath. "Dustin knows that. Allowing ourselves to think they won would just be disrespectful to his memory."

She reached out and placed a hand on Dustin's still, cold cheek. For a moment, she could fool herself and pretend that he was only sleeping, but the lack of warmth and the all-too still body could not be denied.

"Goodbye, my friend," she whispered. "We will always miss you."

No one else spoke. It didn't matter that nothing else was said—it was enough. None of them were dry-eyed and those tears spoke volumes of what they couldn't express. She turned and glanced to the other Yellow Rangers. One of their own was gone… It affected them, not as much as the people who had known him, but enough.

"We have to make a promise," Maya said. "To tell the story. Ours. Dustin's." She paused and glanced at Tori. "And he lives on."

Tori smiled sadly. "I'll call Sensei," she whispered.

Maya nodded. Tori went into the tent and came out with her cell phone. She could be heard talking to someone, but in tones too soft for them to hear. As soon as the other ninjas arrived, Dustin would be taken care of. They were fiercely protective of their own and would want to be the first ones informed. Then there was his family… would they even want to know that their son and brother was gone?

"Godspeed," Taylor whispered to Dustin.

"He's coming," Tori said, wiping at her eyes. "He and Cam will be here soon."

The Samurai and the Master… she wondered if the Air teacher would be coming with them. Probably. If she was to assume things correctly, Shane, Tori and Dustin had been best friends in life. He would want to be here now.

They would get through this somehow.

She watched as Eric gently helped Taylor back to her feet and the two of them moved away. Conner took Kelsey and Kira towards the picnic table. The others were still and silent as they had been since she got back to the campsite.

It was going to be a long day.

* * *

Kira let Conner help her up and lead her towards the picnic table. He had her on one arm and Kelsey on the other, ever the chivalrous gentleman. Everything felt so hollow now. Their mission was over and it was back to the real world. The real world was not a happy place anymore. She might have a renewed sense of purpose, but… Dustin was gone and in his wake, so much had happened. What would they tell his family? What would become of Tori? 

"You did well, Rangers."

She turned as did all of them to see Zordon, Boric and Lucivar materializing into their campsite. Boric and Lucivar looked more substantial than Zordon, but Kira supposed that was because fairies and demons could cross into the mortal realm with little trouble.

"I thought we had to call you," Kelsey asked weakly.

Zordon shook his head. "My power was enough to purge the universe of evil power… once. Now, I find that there are many things I can do that normal spirits cannot."

"Like restore our powers," Conner commented.

"Among other things."

Boric stepped forward. "On behalf of Fairyland, I give my thanks. Our Master of the Guard has been returned to us. For that, we owe you nothing but thanks. We are in your debt. Just call upon us, if you need us, and we will be there." He gave them a regal bow, straightening. He had struck Kira as rather flippant during their first encounter, but after having dealt with Arval and Owling, her opinion of fairies had changed. They were valiant warriors and intellects underneath their love of glamour and fun.

What Boric had said spoke nothing of what Owling had done under Jareth's spell. Kira supposed that there was nothing to be done for it. He hadn't known what he was doing and it would be unfair to punish him for things that he would not normally have done. She just hoped that he didn't start to remember what he did then—the results might not be the best.

"I hadn't thought much of you originally," Lucivar said. "But the five Yellow Rangers—Eternal Sunshine—have proven themselves worthy." He bowed to them. Even when he was cornering Jareth, he always managed to look regal and dignified, exuding the dark power that ran throughout his being. None of his clothing looked out of place, even considering that he had escaped the temple shortly before them. His red cape was in place. "And do not worry about Jareth," he said. "I have him and he will shortly be dealt with."

Zordon smiled. He looked the same as he had on their last meetings—bald head with a simple black kimono. "We all owe you our thanks. It appears that the ancient ninjas were not wrong in their choice of who was to take on this mission." He bowed to them, as Boric and Lucivar had.

"But, Dustin…" Kira said, trailing off.

"Do not worry about him. He has taken his place on the Council of Light." Zordon paused and looked thoughtful. "We shall all talk again soon."

"When?" Maya asked, looking up from where she still knelt beside Dustin's body.

Zordon gave her a warm smile. "You will know when the time is right." He paused. "You have always been the Wolf. Now is no time to distrust your instincts, when you have followed them your entire life." He stopped for a moment. "Your instincts have made most of your recent history happen."

Maya nodded and looked back to Dustin.

The ancient being looked at Kira, Taylor and Kelsey. "Do the three of you now understand what Trini was trying to tell you when you first summoned her?"

Taylor nodded and glanced back to Eric. "I think I understand it now," she whispered.

"I didn't realize the guilt thing was supposed to apply now and not to anything before this," Kelsey commented, a sad smile on her face.

Kira looked at Conner. He had not been part of the deal, but she got him anyways. And, unlike Trent, he would not insist she stay in Reefside. In fact, he would probably have a few pointed things to say if she did decide to remain.

"I need to live my dreams," she said softly.

Zordon nodded. "Right on all accounts."

"There's still one thing I don't understand," Eric spoke up.

"What is that?" Zordon asked.

Eric gave a pointed look to the sphinx that was behind Taylor. "How did all of these mythical creatures end up here?"

Zordon smiled again. "They are the ancient animal spirits that have dwelt with each one of the five. They existed once, a long time ago. Now, they had chosen to protect humans with their spirits and power. Sometimes, when the need is great, they manifest in their original form and provide support in the physical world."

Eric nodded, still staring at the sphinx.

"The humans do not choose their animal spirits. The animal spirits choose them," Zordon reminded him.

"Like the Dino-Gems," Conner muttered.

The Quantum Ranger looked like he very much would have liked to growl 'what?', but Zordon beat him to it.

"Not all power sources choose their owners," he said, his voice serene. "Some of them did and others were man-made, meaning a human had to choose who would bear the power source." He paused. "Kelsey, Eric… you are some of the ones who have experience with that being the case."

"Yeah, Eric stole his," Taylor muttered, wiping her nose on her sleeve.

Eric glared at her, obviously not in the mood for that discussion.

"We have given you our thanks," Zordon continued. "We will speak again when the time is right. The other Yellow Rangers will speak to you then."

"Dustin?" Kelsey asked.

Zordon didn't reply. He just raised his hand in a final salute as he, Boric and Lucivar faded into the early morning light. Faint blue sparkles were left in their wake. Kira strained to see them, but the sun was rising and burning off the early morning mist. Golden light streamed the campsite, erasing all traces of the three leaders of the spirit realm.

Warm, horse breath blew onto her face. She turned and patted the unicorn on the nose. He snorted and nuzzled against her neck. How many times in childhood had she wished for a horse? Now she had a huge white horse with a lethal horn protruding from his forehead. From a distance, he just looked merely beautiful. In battle, he looked fierce. No one wanted to mess with a creature that could impale the largest human being on his horn.

The sphinx pushed herself to her feet and stretched. She then gazed at the rising sun. "The yellow sun rises," she said. "We must depart."

"Now?" Kelsey asked.

Kira was inclined to agree. She'd like to have the unicorn around for a while, if for nothing more than a comforting body that couldn't offer bogus advice.

"Do you want to imagine the chaos if we were discovered?" the sphinx asked.

She was right. It would be chaos. They would turn five beautiful creatures into some kind of freak show—and none of them deserved that.

"This is our farewell," the sphinx continued.

Kira turned and threw her arms around the neck of the unicorn. He snorted and blew his warm breath into her hair. She buried her face in his mane, tears stinging her eyes once more. They had lost Dustin and now their ancient animals… Sobs began to shake her body as the implications of the loss dawned on her.

"I'll miss you," she whispered to the unicorn.

He snorted and stepped back from her. The five creatures—unicorn, Pegasus, griffin, sphinx and phoenix—stood framed by the sunset before they faded into the glowing golden light. _There's no word yet for old friends who just met…_ She had literally just met the unicorn and there was something about him that made her feel like she had known him her entire life. He was now gone.

She felt Conner come up behind her and lay a hand on her shoulder.

Suddenly, a green streak landed into the middle of their campsite. The moment it stopped moving, it proved to be Cam Wantanabe. Three other streaks—red, crimson and white—landed beside him as well. Hunter Bradley, Shane Clarke and Sensei Kanoi Wantanabe, who had a large piece of white linen over his arm, appeared next to the former Green Samurai Ranger.

"Where is he?" Sensei Wantanabe asked. His face showed no signs of panic or fear, but sadness was evident in his ancient eyes.

Kira pointed towards Maya. The Galaxy Ranger stood up, a sad smile on her face. They all knew that the ninjas would take care of Dustin. Kanoi gave her a sad smile in return and gently embraced her. Maya accepted the embrace. Once he released Maya, he knelt down next to Dustin. His hands gently rested on his forehead for a moment.

"It's true?" Shane gasped.

Kanoi gently unfolded the linen and laid it on the ground next to Dustin. Hunter and Cam moved to help move Dustin's body onto it. Both of them looked sad, but seemed to be restraining their emotions for the time being. Shane stood still, looking horrified. Tori came up to him and the two old friends took comfort in one another's presence.

The ninjas folded the linen around Dustin.

"Where are you taking him?" Maya asked.

"To the Wind Ninja Academy," Kanoi replied. "We will contact his parents and take care of all the necessary arrangements." He paused. "Dustin will be given a proper ninja funeral."

"Thank you," Maya whispered.

Kanoi looked out to all of them, his expression twined with sorrow and compassion for them. "All of you are invited back to the Wind Ninja Academy," he said. He then gave Maya a pointed expression. "Especially you," he added. "You will all need to rest before returning to your normal lives."

Maya nodded. Kira watched as Hunter and Cam picked up Dustin's body. The ninjas then streaked away—all of them, including Shane and Tori.

"We'll pack up the camp," Ashley offered, indicating the other yellows.

Kira nodded. It was just as well that the four of them got to the academy soon. 

_To Be Continued..._


	29. Return To the Earth

**Disclaimer:** Some incarnations are (were) Saban and others are Disney. I can't tell which. I don't own it.

**RESTLESS WARRIORS**

By Etcetera Kit

**Chapter Twenty-Nine: Return To the Earth**

Maya folded her hands behind her back as she walked through the green gardens of the Wind Ninja Academy. The weather was mild and perfect for being outdoors. She was glad to be back here. A sense of security and peacefulness reigned here, along with an underlying sense of power and age. Dustin's funeral was going to be that night. Kanoi was bringing his family here. Maya didn't know how broken up they would be or how much Dustin's final will would upset them. Most of his meager belongings went to his friends, while all preparations and responsibility for his funeral had been handed to Kanoi. What had happened between him and his family to cause this final split?

She thought back to earlier that day. Eric had offered Tori a position with the Silver Guardians. The former Blue Wind Ranger was facing a break-up with her steady boyfriend and a wide split with her family once official news of her pregnancy reached them. Eric had explained, over breakfast, that one of the guys on Wes' squad had quit to reenlist in the military. He thought she had potential to be a great Guardian and could offer her secretarial work until the baby was born, along with the cushy benefits that Alan Collins offered all the Silver Guardians. It seemed to Maya that Eric was getting a lot of people jobs with the Silver Guardians, but, as he had explained it, those were the only two positions that came open and he would rather handpick people for them any day. He had two people he trusted in those positions now.

The wind gently blew, pulling strands of her hair away from the careful ponytail she had pulled her hair into that morning. She tucked as much as she could behind her ears and sank down onto one of the stone benches. So much memory surrounded this place, this garden…

The others would be departing for their respective homes tomorrow morning. She had told them that, after the funeral at sunset, they would go to the bluff and contact Trini and Zordon one final time. It saddened her to think that she might not see some of these people again… Kira was going back to Reefside to withdraw for the semester and take care of loose ends before heading for New York. The Dino Ranger had called the school this morning and they had been overjoyed to hear she wanted to attend. Kelsey had called her boss at the rock gym and he told her that she hadn't run out of vacation or sick days, but she'd better not take off again for almost four weeks. Taylor was heading back to Turtle Cove to pack her things and settle the rent on her apartment before heading for Silver Hills where she would be living with Eric and working for the Silver Guardians.

Conner and the other Yellow Rangers would be leaving to get back to their normal lives tomorrow as well. There were eleven of them… now there were only ten. They would not be the only Yellow Rangers nor were they the only ones currently. She sighed and looked at a small patch of flowers by the entrance to the garden. Kanoi had given them each guest rooms at the academy for the night rather than letting them sleep in Ninja Ops like they had during their initial stay here. She felt like she had cried herself out last night…

"Kelsey said you might be here."

Maya looked up at the sound of the familiar voice. Mike? What was he doing here? He was supposed to be on Mirinoi. But he was here, walking into the garden. His dark hair spilled over his forehead and he smiled at her. He and his brother were so different, right down to their appearances. He was wearing a gray t-shirt with blue jeans.

"Mike?" she whispered.

He nodded. She pushed herself off the bench and flew into his arms. He hugged her tightly, almost squeezing the breath out of her. She pushed away from him and gave him a scrutinizing stare.

"How?" she asked.

"Well," he started with a smile, leading them over to the bench and sitting down. She sat down next to him, an expectant look on her face. "I didn't come here leading a rescue mission. Kelsey sent me a wire and asked me to come. Then Sensei Wantanabe the Elder sent me another wire detailing how to get here. I got on the shuttle yesterday morning and got here this morning." He paused. "You've got more than one person conspiring against you."

"I see that," she replied. "Why did you come? You didn't have to come if they asked you to."

"I wanted to," he said firmly. "I wanted to see you."

"Mike," she said softly. "So much has happened…" She trailed off, her thoughts going to the events of the last few days. Well, yesterday… It was hard to believe that the terror had ended yesterday morning. That night felt like it wouldn't end.

"I know," Mike replied. "Kanoi told me when I got here."

She shook her head. "No one was supposed to die."

Mike gently took her hands in his own. "You couldn't have prevented that, Maya," he said in a serious tone. It was a tone he used when he was addressing new recruits to the GSA or particularly inept GSA members. "You're human. I know that people from Earth forget that sometimes, but you are. There was nothing more you could have done."

He gently pulled her into his arms and she sank against him, breathing in the familiar scent and taking comfort in his arms. There was something about Mike… he was a rock. No wonder he and Leo were so close—no wonder that Leo had been so broken up about his death. He was constant and always ready to hear someone's sob story. Her thoughts briefly went to the phone conversation she had had with him a few weeks ago.

"Mike?" she said suddenly.

"Yeah?" he responded.

"When I called you a few weeks ago, what did Leo want you to tell me?"

"Oh." He looked slightly disgruntled that that was being brought up. "That." He paused and took a deep breath, before muttering. "Leo needs to learn to shut his mouth." He then eased her out of his embrace and his dark eyes met hers. "I love you."

"Is that all?" Maya asked incredulously. She shook her head, a smile tugging at her lips. "It's a good thing I love you too or I'd be annoyed with you all the time."

Mike muttered something about it 'being better to not tell Leo some things.'

"Come on. I bet he tells you all kinds of things."

"Yeah, from the time we thought Kendrix had died to the time she came back, I got to hear all about how pretty and wonderful and intelligent she was." Mike paused. "And Damon and Kai had to live with him… still do…"

Maya just smiled and shook her head. She planted a kiss on his forehead. "Come on. I think Kanoi said that breakfast was being served."

* * *

The sun was sinking over the horizon. Kelsey stood in her place amongst the line of Yellow Rangers, in front of the lines of ninjas. She wasn't sure how these ninja funerals worked. Her eyes went to a small group apart from the former rangers and ninjas. Dustin's family… his parents and his sister looked sad and, in some sense, horrified. She glanced to her left. His grandmother had chosen to stand with the rangers and ninjas—Dustin's friends. Kanoi had also asked her to speak. The elderly lady was obviously made of sterner stuff than his family, because her clear brown eyes were dry and she looked thoughtfully into the sunset. 

"Attention!" came the command from far off.

All the ninjas stood in their 'attention' form. It reminded Kelsey of something the military might do. She noticed that Taylor and Eric also stood at attention.

The procession started. The first people to come through were the four remaining Ninja Storm male rangers. Dustin's body had been laid on a wooden stretcher that the four supported between them. Each of them was wearing a simple black kimono with a white undershirt. The kimono was trimmed in his color. They had put Dustin in a white robe and yellow flowers surrounded his body on the stretcher. She imagined that the color of the flower would change depending on which element a ninja had been.

Kelsey swallowed the lump in the back of her throat as the four ninjas placed the stretcher on a pyre. The pyre had been built from large pieces of wood and some kind of dried dirt—peat, she supposed. Ninjas were cremated. The reasoning was something about 'coming from the earth and returning to it.' She didn't know, but the funeral seemed to be steeped in tradition. She didn't question it.

Behind Dustin's body and the four ninjas came Tori and Sensei Kanoi Wantanabe. Both were dressed as the four males had been. Tori's kimono was trimmed in blue, while Kanoi's was trimmed in white. Once the body had been placed on the pyre, the four males lined up. Tori took her place among them. Kanoi stood just to the front.

"Stand at ease," he said in a soft voice.

There was a rush of movement as the ninjas complied.

"We are here to honor Sensei Waldo Dustin Brooks," Kanoi said. "He was a child of the earth and a teacher here. He was also the Yellow Wind Power Ranger, calling upon his element. He fell while continuing his destiny as a Power Ranger."

Dustin's family looked shocked to learn he had been a Power Ranger. They had probably just viewed him as an average student, never destined to be anything great. His grandmother, however, did not look in the least bit surprised.

"He was true to his heart." He paused and looked at the other Yellow Rangers. It was all too obvious that someone was missing from their ranks. "Dustin's grandmother, Mabel Brooks, will now speak."

The woman looked tiny and frail compared to the ninjas she was standing with as she moved forward. But her age and strength shone through. "My grandson was one of the happiest people I knew," she started. "He was always positive and always looking for the bright side of a situation. We grew closer in the past two years." She paused and her stern gaze went to Dustin's nuclear family. "He needed an adult figure after the ones he had relied on betrayed him. I became that figure and between laundry and cookies, I learned that he was bright and willing to work as hard as he must to achieve his dreams. I heard so much about his friends and I felt like I knew each of them, despite the fact that I had not met them."

Dustin's parents looked upset that she was putting them in such a light.

"I loved him," Mrs. Brooks continued. "But I was one of many people who loved him. Recently, he told me about the four young women he was working with. The four of you contributed so much to his last days. He called me the day before he passed on and told me how much he had learned from the four of you and how much he loved you."

Kelsey felt a tear roll down her cheek and tried to keep from sobbing aloud. None of them had ever known what Dustin felt or how he really felt about them.

"We will miss him," she whispered before stepping back to her place beside Kelsey.

Kanoi stepped forward. He raised his hands towards the sinking sun.

"From the earth we come," he intoned. "And to the earth we return." He turned to Dustin and said softly, "Goodbye."

Two ninja students came down the center 'aisle' left between the lines of ninjas and rangers. Both of them were Earth students, their leather uniforms trimmed in yellow. Each of them had two lit torches. The yellow light oddly illuminated their faces in the rapidly dwindling sunlight. They carried them in outstretched arms.

Hunter and his brother, who was also a Thunder ninja, met the student on the left and each took one of the torches. Shane and Tori took the torches from the student on the right. The students retreated once they had been relieved of the torches. The four ninjas each stood at a corner of the pyre.

Cam picked up a wreath of flowers that had been perched towards the bottom of the pyre. Kelsey looked at the wreath. Some kind of greenery had been woven into roses and lilies. Two other kinds of flowers—one blue and one dark red that Kelsey did not recognize—were woven in as well. The Samurai placed the wreath on Dustin's chest.

"Air, Water, Earth, Thunder and Samurai as one," he whispered.

In unison, the four ninjas placed the torches onto the pyre. Immediately, the entire construction went up in flames. The yellow and orange flames licked the night sky. The ninjas stepped back, watching the conflagration. It was almost frightening, watching the cremation like this. She was so used to things in the non-ninja world, when no one except the mortician would see something like this. She reached up and wiped at the tears.

Kanoi started to lead the procession out. Tori and Shane along with the Thunder brother in navy blue followed him. Cam and Hunter remained watching the fire. The ninjas then filed out quietly along with Dustin's family. The other Yellow Rangers followed suit. Soon, it was Kelsey, Taylor, Kira and Maya still standing there.

"Go," Hunter said quietly. "We'll take care of this."

"What will you do?" Maya asked.

Cam sighed. "We'll take the ashes to the Mountain of Lost Ninjas where they'll be spread."

"We should go with you."

Hunter shook his head. "I understand why you want to, but it's not a good idea for anyone other than ninjas to go there."

"The ghosts can get violent," Cam added blandly.

Maya nodded slowly and started to walk away from the large field. The sun had set and the moon and stars shone brightly above them. Kelsey followed her. Taylor fell into step behind her and Kira brought up the rear. The only sounds heard were those of the crackling flames.

* * *

Shivering in the cool breeze coming off the bay, Taylor stayed in step behind Kelsey as Maya led the way up to the bluff. She had requested that all of the Yellow Rangers and Tori, Conner and Eric come with them. She figured that it had something to do with the fact that all of those people had been in contact with the spirit world before or the spirit world had come to them. They stepped off the footpath to the bluff. Maya had a pile of wood waiting for them. Taylor knew that Mike had come to see Maya—he had been at the funeral, but he wasn't here. She almost found that reason too obvious. 

Maya instructed the others to stand in a half circle.

The four of them quickly built the fire. Soon enough, they had built a large fire bordering on the size of a bonfire. The yellow flames reached for the sky, dancing in their own unique rhythm. She watched as Maya threw the normal dust on the fire. It flared and settled down—the flames turning cool shades of blue and purple before returning to the warm yellow.

"I call on the spirit of the Yellow Ranger that has gone beyond. I call on her for guidance in this moment of confusion." She took a small pocket knife from her belt and made a cut in her finger. A drop of blood fell onto the flames with a faint 'hiss.' Maya turned and looked at the three of them. Taylor, Kelsey and Kira stepped forward and each of them contributed a drop of blood to the fire.

Tiny blue lights rose from the fire and formed into shapes on the opposite side of the fire from where they were. "A wish made with blood is an offering to those who have gone beyond," Trini said as she materialized.

Taylor watched who had materialized with her. Zordon had come that was to be expected, but someone else had come… someone they hadn't called before. In fact, the guy looked quite a bit like…

"Dustin?" Tori asked from the circle behind them.

He nodded.

Zordon stepped forward. "I know this had been said before, but you have done well." He smiled at them. "The Yellow Rangers live up to their legacy."

Trini smiled. "Do you now understand what I was trying to tell you?"

Kelsey, Kira and Taylor nodded. Taylor knew that she understood it now. She hadn't—hadn't wanted to—understood what it meant, knowing that all the signs pointed to Eric.

"It is now time for you to return your powers," Zordon said. "Those of you that had to have your powers restored, step forward."

Taylor and Kira stepped forward. With them came Tori, Conner, Aisha and Tanya. Zordon closed his eyes and held his hand out. The wrist morphers disappeared in a burst of blue sparkles, while Taylor felt the weight in her pocket—where her growl phone had been—lift. Their powers were gone… again. It was almost too strange how their powers seemed to come and go in the blink of an eye.

Dustin now stepped forward. Like Trini, he was wearing some kind of yellow robe. He looked as he had when they last saw him. The only difference was that he was now transparent and surrounded by a blue shimmering light. He stepped to Tori. The Blue Wind Ranger gasped as he smiled at her.

"I had thought Trini was trying to tell me that I loved you," he said softly to her. "But now I realize that I was supposed to help you and Blake stay together."

"He doesn't know," Tori whispered.

"You guys are supposed to be together!" Dustin said empathically. "True blue… sapphire blue… that's you and Blake. Not me." He paused. "He'll understand. Just give him time… I like to think I know him halfway decently."

Tori nodded, tears in her eyes. Dustin stepped back with Trini and Zordon.

"It is time for our final goodbye," Zordon said. "You will not need to contact us again." He gave all of them a fond look. "Your task is done." He glanced to Z. "Or your task is just beginning."

"I don't think I could have had better successors," Trini added.

Zordon motioned to Dustin. The Yellow Wind Ranger stepped forward and went to Maya. She smiled, barely concealing her tears. "Maya," he said softly. "We couldn't have done this mission without you. You taught us all that we needed to listen to nature and our hearts."

He then moved to Kelsey. "Thanks for keeping us sane." Kelsey laughed before tears threatened to take over once more.

Taylor's heart began to beat a staccato rhythm as he moved to her. "You are not a nice person," Dustin said. "But you made all of us focus on what was important. You became the kind of leader most people can only hope to have." She smiled, trying to glare at his jabs, but not succeeding.

He moved to Kira. "You're smarter than you give yourself credit for," he said. "Follow your dreams." Kira smiled sadly.

Dustin moved back in line with Trini and Zordon.

"We'll never see you again?" Maya asked.

"I wouldn't say that," Zordon replied. "Our spirits remain in the spirit realm for all eternity, but we can impart pieces of ourselves on others." He paused and looked at Taylor. Eric had moved so that he was standing next to her. "I think when the two of you look into the eyes of your first son, you'll see a familiar spirit."

Their first son… Dustin would pass parts of his spirit onto their child? Taylor knew she wasn't pregnant, but something about thinking that far in the future scared her. For some reason, children never figured into equations of married life with Eric. But their first son? Was that implying that they would have more than one child? She didn't know and thought it better not to dwell on that for too long.

"You have all made us proud in many ways before now," Zordon continued. He then glanced at Z. "The newest addition to the legacy seems to be of the same ilk as the rest." Z smiled subconsciously.

"Goodbye," Trini said, raising her hand in farewell.

Dustin and Zordon followed suite and the three of them disappeared into a swirl of blue sparkles. Taylor stared after them. They would never see Dustin again… She thought to the pictures Kelsey had taken with her digital camera… She would have to ask for copies of those, since those were some of the last pictures taken of Dustin.

No one said anything as they put out the fire. Each one was wrapped up in his or her own thoughts. Soon the fire was out and the pale moonlight was the only thing guiding their way back to the academy. Kanoi had given each of them guest rooms this time around—and she and Eric had their own room.

Everyone filed down the footpath. Taylor felt Eric take her hand. It was such a simple gesture, but it made her want to shed tears of joy. Perhaps their relationship and eventual marriage would work out.

The wind blew and as she strained to hear, she thought she heard Dustin calling his final farewell to them. 

_To Be Continued..._

* * *

**Author's Note: **There will be an epilogue and end credits, so stay tuned! 


	30. Eternal Sunshine

**Disclaimer:** 'Power Rangers' (all incarnations) are copyright of BVE who are in some way related to Disney. No infringement is intended.

**RESTLESS WARRIORS**

By Etcetera Kit

**Chapter Thirty: Eternal Sunshine**

_-Nine Months Later-_

Kelsey stared at the vacant storefront. It was the perfect location—in the middle of a shopping center mainly populated by kids who were extreme sports fans. All of these kids would want a comic book store handy to buy their comics and miscellaneous other needs that comic book stores seemed to cater to. It was also within walking distance of Blue Bay Harbor High—perfect for attracting the local kids. It was all round a great location.

She smiled to herself, imagining what would be here once she got done. It was funny how all of them, with the exception of Taylor, had ended up in Blue Bay Harbor. She had gotten a job at a local extreme sports store—Storm Chargers. Kelly, the owner and operator, had been looking for a business partner since all her teenaged hired help had quit. Kelsey had been only too happy to go into business with her. She had then moved herself to Blue Bay Harbor. Just recently the idea for the comic book store had wiggled its way into her mind.

Kira and Conner were staying in Blue Bay Harbor for the summer. Kira had gone to NYU for a semester, but was offered a demo contract in LA. In the fall, she would transfer to UCLA to pursue her music career closer to the people who wanted to sponsor her. It was an added bonus that Conner was still at UCLA on his soccer scholarship. Kira had gotten a gig for the summer at a local coffee house, while Conner was playing club soccer in Blue Bay Harbor.

Taylor was permanently in Silver Hills, which wasn't too far from Blue Bay Harbor. Her and Eric had gotten married close to Christmas. She was still a squad leader with the Silver Guardians. The family chaos between their families had exploded when both families found out that they hadn't been invited to the wedding. The only family member there had been Eric's older brother and a lot of old friends. So far, there were no plans to bring Zordon's prophecy of one of their children being like Dustin to light.

Maya had decided to remain on Earth after all that had happened. Mike was only too happy to return to his home planet. While they were living together, neither of them had broached the subject of marriage. Maya had gotten a job in Blue Bay Harbor working at a local animal shelter.

As for the others, most of them had faded into the sunset as they went back to their normal lives and routines. The only one of the other yellows that Kelsey tended to see on a regular basis was Z and her friend, Jack, because the pair of them hung out at Storm Chargers in their spare time. Tori and Blake had gotten together and she had had the baby only a few weeks ago. Still on maternity leave from the Guardians, the baby had been a boy named Waldo Eric Brooks. Eric had been named the baby's godfather, something that Taylor found extremely amusing.

She turned as a car parked in front of the store. It was a Silver Guardians SUV. Kelsey smiled to herself. Taylor had arrived. The blonde got out of the car, still in her uniform.

"This had better be good," she called as she approached Kelsey. "Because I'm wasting my lunch hour driving all over creation."

Kelsey gave her a bored look. "It's worth your time."

"Where're the others?"

"Coming." Taylor opened her mouth to say something, but Kelsey cut her off. "I'll explain everything once the others get here."

A yellow Volkswagon Beetle—new—pulled into the parking space next to the SUV. Maya and Kira got out of it. That was right… Maya still didn't drive and no one could convince her that it would be a good thing for her to learn.

"What's going on?" Kira asked as the four of them clustered around the vacant storefront.

"Welcome to the future home of Utility Belt Comics," Kelsey said.

"Utility Belt?" Taylor asked with a snicker.

Kira frowned. "This is going to be a comic book store?"

Kelsey nodded. "Dustin told me once that he'd like to own a comic book store." She shrugged. "I figure this can be our final tribute to him."

Maya smiled. "That's a great idea!"

"Why did you call us?" Taylor asked.

Again, Kelsey shrugged. "I figured that you guys would want to be in on it, since it is for Dustin and all."

"All right…" Taylor said slowly. "How much work are we talking here?"

"Well, we need to clean and furnish the interior. There are a lot of old shelves and tables in there that we could fix up—save money." She paused. "Plus we'd need to stock the place and figure that into bills and whatnot."

"And the tab?" Taylor continued.

Kelsey let out a long breath. "Not as much as you'd think."

"How much?"

She named a figure.

"Is that all?" Taylor asked. "We can get a bank to give us that much."

"So are you guys in?" Kelsey asked. "If we work through this month, we could open up by the middle of the summer."

"I'm in," Maya reassured her.

"I wouldn't miss something like this," Kira added.

Taylor rolled her eyes. "You guys need someone to keep you on track."

Kelsey smiled. "All right! Let's get some potential dates to get started!"

* * *

Taylor stuck her tongue in the corner of her mouth as she carefully painted black lines around the pencil drawings she had done for one of the walls. It had been Kira's idea to do a mural of comic book characters on one wall. However, Taylor had turned out to be the best with drawing and painting things like that. Right now, she was outlining Batman for the section that would feature the Justice League. 

This was not her ideal way to spend a Saturday, but since Kelsey had gotten them all into this two weeks ago, it was hard to deny the enthusiasm about it. They had spent last weekend cleaning and deciding what kind of furniture they needed to order. This weekend, she was working on the wall, while Maya and Kelsey worked on painting the other walls in a neutral shade. Eric and Conner had been recruited to help move in the new furniture and neither one of them had been able to refrain from complaining. They were supposed to get here with the furniture and Kira was going to direct them on where to move it.

"Guys!" Kira was saying from somewhere outside. "Don't drop that!"

Taylor turned and watched Conner and Eric struggle to move a huge shelf-like thing into the store. Kira was obviously enjoying giving them orders. It was just as well, because she would have injured one or both of them already.

She turned back to her painting, concentrating on not ruining what she had just spent most of the morning drawing.

"Hey, I thought you guys might want some lunch."

Dropping the paintbrush into a pan on the floor, she turned once more to see Tori coming into the store in the wake of Conner and Eric, both of whom were slumped on the floor next to the shelf they had moved against one wall. She was holding a baby carrier in one hand and a few bags of take-out in the other. For someone who had had a baby not more than a month ago, she looked great.

"Food!" Conner breathed. He and Eric commandeered the bags of take-out and began rummaging through them.

"Leave some for us," Kira told them.

Taylor went over to Eric and Conner, fished a sandwich out of the bag and went over to the counter where Maya was playing with baby Waldo. "You look particularly happy," she commented as she took a big bite of her sandwich.

"Yeah," Tori replied a huge grin on her face. "Blake asked me to marry him!"

"That's great!" Kelsey called, obviously just having emerged from grabbing a sandwich from the two males present.

"I know!" Tori gushed. "I wanted to tell you guys first."

Maya looked up from the baby and studied Tori. "Listen, we're happy for you about Blake and all, but what did happen between you and Dustin."

Tori sighed. "It's complicated. Everything was so cobwebby from those times… I don't even know if I was thinking straight."

"Cobwebby?" Maya asked.

"Leverage," Kelsey muttered.

Taylor continued eating her sandwich, idly listening to the others began talking about wedding plans and whatnot. What happened made sense. Jareth could have found out about Tori and put her under a spell in order to ensure his leverage. She shook her head, glad that the demons were gone. Her own wedding had not been that exciting and it had purposely been that way. Neither her nor Eric wanted a lot of fuss, so there hadn't been any. They hadn't even told their families until after the fact.

"You drew this?"

She snapped to attention at Conner's question. He was standing in front of her drawings on the wall, looking awed.

"Yeah," she replied. "Don't mess it up!"

"You're good," he breathed. "Why don't you draw for a living?"

"It's a hobby," she replied.

"Some hobby," he muttered.

Soon, everyone in the room was standing in front of the wall, admiring the pencil drawings and the beginnings of the outlines. The wall had a long way to go before it was finished, but she thought it would look all right. She swelled with pride at the compliments of the others. She had always been good at copying figures from comic books—she had never been good at drawing her own figures.

"You guys should get some of those markers you can write on glass with," Conner was saying. "Then you could write funny stuff on the counter."

"Like what?" Kira replied, as if she were afraid of the answer.

"I don't know," he shrugged. "Captain America was here?"

They all laughed. If there was one thing, this store would not be boring.

* * *

Kira hefted a box of comics onto one of the tables in the proper order. Taylor had insisted that it would be easiest to alphabetize the comics and put them in boxes on a table. Kira had spent all morning putting the letter dividers into the boxes, now she was trying to get them in place. She really wished that Eric and Conner would have been there this weekend to do the lifting, but Eric had to work overtime on a case and Conner had a tournament. 

Taylor was over at her wall, putting the finishing touches on her mural before she sealed it with some kind of clear semi-gloss spray-paint. Maya was going through pieces to different role-playing games and putting them in the proper drawers on the shelves. Kelsey was opening a box of new merchandise that had just arrived.

"Hey guys!"

The door opened and Kira looked up as Z and two guys she hadn't met walked in, although she was willing to bet that the guys were other SPD Power Rangers.

"Hey, Z!" Kelsey called from the floor as she pulled Dungeons and Dragons books out of the box and began putting price tags on them.

"We came by to help," Z said as she looked around. "And I brought some boys to do all the heavy lifting."

"Hey!" the guys wearing a red t-shirt protested. He had dreads and looked around the store appraisingly. "I'm Jack," he added. "This is Bridge," he added pointing at the guy in a green t-shirt next to him.

"Hi!" Bridge said.

"You guys are just in time," Kira called motioning to the boxes of comics. "You can help me lift these onto the tables."

Jack nodded. "No sweat," he said nonchalantly.

An hour later, all the boxes had been moved and both Jack and Bridge were lying on the floor looking like someone had read their death sentence. "Too much work for you, boys?" Z asked in a teasing tone.

Jack took a half-hearted swipe at her.

Kira laughed and then glanced at Taylor who was shaking up a can of clear spray-paint. "I think we'd better go outside while Taylor sprays that stuff," she said.

Z glanced at Jack and Bridge. "They're all ready too far gone. A couple more brain cells won't make a difference."

"That's not nice," Jack proclaimed as everyone except for Taylor moved outside.

Kira looked out into the late afternoon sunshine. Blue Bay Harbor was quickly becoming her home. The town was somewhat smaller than Reefside, but it had all her closest friends. Home was where the heart was, that's what her mother always told her. Well, her heart was with Conner and her friends, so she was in Blue Bay Harbor.

Once the summer ended, she and Conner would be back in LA. Kelsey and Maya would be left running the comic book store with a little help from Taylor when she could come down from Silver Hills on the weekends. It was sad… leaving something that was so much a part of them. A warm breeze blew across the parking lot. She smiled, facing the breeze.

"Kira?"

She shook her head at the sound of Kelsey's voice. "Yeah?"

"Are you all right? You spaced out for a minute."

"I was just thinking."

Kelsey nodded. Kira turned towards the group, playfully teasing one another. She thought to a song that was only half-done. Putting what had happened to them into a song had been her way to cope with what had happened. She couldn't professionally record the song until she corrected it and made it so that no one would realize she was talking about Power Rangers. Four out of the five of them operated under a secret identities front…

Her manager had asked her if she wanted to dedicate the album she was working on. She had. _In memory of Dustin Brooks and for my friends, who share the legacy, Maya, Kelsey and Taylor._

She needed to finish that song… she felt it now. It needed to be done in time for the opening of the store.

* * *

The store was crowded and buzzing with life. Maya smiled. She had not expected such a good turn-out on their opening day. All four of them were here… and it would probably be the last time until next summer that that happened. Taylor was directing a few boys towards the comics they were looking for. Kelsey had disappeared into the backroom to get something. She and Kira were behind the counter. 

"Sweet," Conner came through the front door and leaned on the counter. "I guess this is kind of cool for a geek store."

Kira gave him a withering look. He grinned. "Don't say that to Ethan," she said.

"Is he coming down from Berkley?"

"Uh-huh. He'll be here later today."

Maya smiled at their exchange and leaned on the counter. The place had turned out pretty decently—and there had been a stream of familiar faces all day. She watched as Mike came through the front door and paused. Waving to him, he smiled and came over to the counter.

"How's it going?" he asked.

She shrugged. "Judging from the turn-out, pretty good."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a wire. "I got a wire from the others." She didn't need to be told which 'others.' He meant the other Galaxy Rangers.

Taking the wire, she read it. 'Good luck! Hope everything goes well! We miss you guys bunches! Kendrix, Leo, Damon and Kai.'

"That was sweet of them."

Mike and Conner wandered off to explore the store. Taylor came over to the counter, the boys having found what they were looking for. Kelsey reappeared from the backroom.

"Think this will float?" Taylor asked.

Kelsey scanned the number of people packed in the store. "I think so," she replied.

Maya smiled. Kira reached under the counter and pulled a sheaf of papers out of her bag. She handed a page to each of them. "This is a song on my album," she said softly. The title was 'Patiently.' It was dedicated to Dustin. "It's a modified version of a song I had done some time ago," she added.

_Looking back, I don't regret one single day. Memories will keep me close when you've gone away. It's harder than I could imagine. Guess I should have known that. Close my eyes and you're there, then I can't find you anywhere. Say goodbye, I'll be okay. I will wait for you 'cause, true love will never fade. When it's real you can feel it. And I know that you know that I will keep on waiting… patiently…_

Blinking away tears, she smiled at Kira. "Dustin will always live," she whispered. "In our hearts."

Taylor nodded. "There are times I don't think he's gone. I can see so much of him in everyday life."

"We're here," Kelsey added. "We owe it to him to keep going."

The four of them fell silent around the counter. It had been their destiny… now, it was time for them to make their own destinies.

* * *

A lone figure in a yellow kimono looked into the water basin—the window from the spirit realm into the mortal realm. He raised a hand and pushed his chocolate brown curls away from his forehead. A smile tugged at the corner of his lips as he watched the activity going on in the comic book store. Four women in yellow were clustered around the front counter. Kira was smiling softly. Maya looked into the distance, lost in her own thoughts. Kelsey had her head propped on her hand. Taylor was silent and impassive, as always. 

All he could do was watch. Spirits could not pass into the mortal realm unless called and the four of them would not call upon him again. But watching wasn't so bad… he could see them and sometimes whisper advice into their minds. For a long time, he had felt like he was on the outside, looking in. It felt literal now… but there was so much to do in this realm. Zordon had them keeping an eye on all the Power Rangers, former and present. It was their duty to protect their own kind and keep them from harm… as much as they could.

"What are you watching?"

He looked up as Trini stepped into the chamber. He stepped aside, so that she could view what he was seeing. She smiled.

"They love you, Dustin," she whispered. "They'll always love you."

"I miss them."

"They miss you." She paused, resting a hand on his shoulder. "Someday you will be reunited with them." There was silence for a moment. "And your son."

He was quiet. "I wish I could be with them. I wish I could see Waldo grow up."

"You can," she replied. "You can always be with them." Her voice grew quiet and distant. "Someday you'll be with them and nothing will be lost."

"They'll be on the Council of Light, too."

"Without a doubt."

He glanced back to the basin one last time. With a wave of his hand, he vanished the image so that it appeared as water once more. He did have all of eternity before him. What were a couple of decades to be separated when they would have all the time in the world together?

Smiling, he and Trini left the chamber. 

The End

* * *

**Author's Note:** What can I say? This story spawned from a wild desire to see the dynamic between Maya, Kelsey, Taylor, Dustin and Kira played outnot to mention having an eventual Yellow Ranger team-up. I also picked Vypra and the demon-esque types because I've always thought Lightspeed Rescue had the coolest bad guys. They weren't all that organized and lacked unity (like most sets of bad guys), but they were demons and not evil space aliens, mutants or orgs (like all the others.) So this has been a wild ride from the beginning and, ironically, some things that happened later in the story were changed due to feedback. (I won't say what.) 

I'd like to thank everyone who took a minute to review this story and offer their own comments and critiques: Aria Fox, BloomingViolets, Bri Dude, Broken Part of Me, CamFan4Ever, cmar, dustori, fenestrae, Funky In Fishnet, Hagar, jim hawking jr, Juzblue, KirCo4Ever, Lady Oliver, Leslie, Lucy E, MagCat, Manders1953, missy, Mrs. Coolio, Peter Smith, rembrandt, Rob, Samurai-Nashie, Sango, SapphireRayne, Satori Blackthorn, skimmboardergurl, Sreym, Stormchild, TF Princess, Thalia-Sandy, the peace pixie, Titanium Gold, Ultimuus, Warstock-Leonhart, Weesta and xXFattyonfireXx. If I missed you, you're welcome to come by my dorm room for s'mores. In many ways, you guys made this story happen!

Someone asked me (I don't remember who or when) if I had done a Red Ranger team-up. I have. Read 'Roaring On the Wind.' (It doesn't feature all of the reds, it covers MMPR through DT with the three exceptions being Rocky, Aurico and Shane, but their absence is explained.) As for doing team-ups with the other colors, someone give me a way for them to meet (or be summoned) and I'll consider it. The next project in the immediate future is slightly morbid, but those of you that are die-hard PR fans will probably find some perverse humor in it. Kaidence is involved with it, if that says anything... I also have a more eclectic team project in progress that has nothing to do with colors.

Thanks for reading, reviewing etc. and I shall see all of you around the site! -EK


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